The Australian dollar has slightly recovered today but is trading near a 1 month low today against it’s US counterpart on the back of weaker commodity prices and expectations that the US Federal Reserve may lift interest rates next month.

At 16:00 (AEDT) the Aussie dollar was trading at USUS75.13c down from US75.09c in yesterday’s trading.

Underpinning the Australian dollar’s weakness has been the recent boost in US consumer confidence as well as remarks from US Federal Reserve vice chair, Stanley Fischer who said that even 2 rate hikes in the US were possible this year,

 “USD has lifted to a fresh two-week high as the anticipation of a near-term lift in the Fed funds rate continues to fuel strength in the USD,” noted Richard Grace, chief currency strategist at the Commonwealth Bank

“US consumer confidence in August lifted more than expected to a new high for the year, and Fed Vice Chair Stanley Fischer, in a Bloomberg television interview, said the outlook for interest rates depends on the US economy, and that US employment is close to full employment.” He added.

The recent weakness in commodity prices such as gold which is trading at around a 1 month low is also pressuring the Australian dollar with the country being one of the world’s biggest gold producers.