Australian dollar drifts to bottom of session range

The Australian dollar sank to the bottom of the day's range late on Monday as investors awaited developments in the influential oil industry.
With markets priced for a monetary tightening in the United States on June 30, attention has now turned to energy costs and the impact last week's rise in NYMEX oil prices above $40 a barrel could have on global growth.
"Markets continue to look for a medium-term theme to fill the void that had been occupied by speculation on the outlook for US monetary policy," said Geoff Bowmer, divisional director of foreign exchange at Macquarie Bank.
The Aussie - which reached a nine-day high of $0.7035 offshore - was at $0.6956/61, compared with $0.7015/21 in late local trade on Friday. The currency hit a seven-month low of $0.6795 last week.
Bowmer said most currencies would likely range-trade ahead of the June 30 rate-setting meeting in the United States. After that meeting, the risk was that the market became either frustrated with the slow pace of tightening or was shocked if the Fed moved rates up faster than expected.