$A continues to hit fresh lows
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The Australian dollar has tested a new three-and-a-half year low as Chinese growth data fails to give a sustained boost.
At 1700 AEDT on Monday, the Australian dollar was trading at 87.79 US cents, down from 88.15 cents on Friday.
The local currency hit 87.56 US cents, the lowest point since July 2010, in late morning trade.
At lunchtime, the unit shot up from 87.78 US cents to an intraday high of 88.03 US cents after official Chinese data showed the economy of Australia's biggest trading partner growing by 7.7 per cent in 2013, which was almost in line with market expectations.
But the Australian dollar's downward momentum quickly resumed as traders focused on the December quarter figure, showing a growth pace of 1.8 per cent which was below expectations of a two per cent expansion, National Australia Bank global co-head of strategy Ray Attrill said.
'There was a little bit of slowing in growth momentum in the latter part of the year and therefore I saw the numbers as a little bit Aussie negative,' he said.
'It's another example of where we do get, ostensibly, news that is viewed as perhaps somewhat positive for Australia and the currency, the rallies prove to be extremely fleeting.
'Underlying sentiment towards the Australian dollar ... is still pretty negative.'
The Australian dollar had a short-lived rally against the New Zealand currency in the early afternoon after a 6.3 magnitude earthquake rattled the nation's north island, affecting the capital Wellington but leaving no structural damage.
With US markets closed for the Martin Luther King Jr. public holiday, the Australian dollar is not expected to move dramatically during offshore trade.
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