Aussie tumbles to 19-month nadir versus US dollar

Australian dollar shed nearly one percent in Asian trade to January 5, 2017 lows against US dollar, after the Reserve Bank of Australia released its monetary policy statement, and ahead of US consumer prices data. 

As of 06:33 GMT, AUD/USD dropped 0.88% to 0.7308, with a session-high at 0.7380, and a 1-1/5 year low at 0.7281. 

The RBA released its monetary policy statement today, expecting growth above 3% and lower employment but warning from short-term factors keeping inflation down, amidst the US-China trade conflict while emerging economies lose some steam. 

The RBA voted earlier this week to hold the official cash rate at 1.50% unchanged for the 22nd meeting in a row as expected by analysts. 

Now markets await US data on consumer prices, expected to have increased by 0.2% in July, up from 0.1% in June, while core prices are estimated with a 0.2% rise, same as before.