The Australian dollar is lower after strong United States employment data increased expectations the US Federal Reserve will wind back its economic stimulus program this year.
At 1700 AEDT, the local unit was trading at 90.34 US cents, down from 90.62 cents on Wednesday.
In the early hours of this morning the currency hit a new three-month low of 90.00 US cents after an ADP employment report showed that 215,000 new jobs were added to the US private sector for November, much better than market expectations of a gain of 170,000.
CMC Markets sales trader Betty Lam said the Australian dollar has struggled to make any ground against a US dollar rallying on the back of heightened expectations the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) will announce a taper after its meeting in two weeks time.
"A more solid greenback has seen the Australian dollar continue to fall under selling pressure," she said.
"The Australian dollar received no reprieve and was quick to react to trade balance numbers this morning, falling to the day's low of 90.14 US cents."
Official figures out today showed Australia's international trade deficit grew to $529 million in October, from $271 million in September.
"The direction of the Australian dollar could be dependent on the all-important weekly US unemployment claims due Friday morning (Australian time)," Ms Lam said.
During the offshore session on Friday night the US official employment figures, called non-farm payrolls, will be released, which will also be a key focus for the market.
