Australian dollar falls amid oil talk breakdown

The Australian dollar has dropped due to a slump in oil prices.

At 6:30 a.m. local time (AEST) on Monday, the Australian dollar was trading at 76.52 U.S. cents, down from 77.23 U.S cents on Friday. By 9:23 a.m. local time (AEST), the Australian dollar had risen to 76.70 U.S. cents.

Brent crude fell 1.7 percent ahead of the weekend's oil producer meeting to freeze output. However, no agreement was reached, Westpact senior market strategist Imre Speizer said in a note on Monday.

"The oil meeting failure will probably weigh on commodity currencies," Speizer said.

"However, daily momentum remains positive so that a break above 77.35 U.S. cents is expected during the days ahead."

Commonwealth Bank of Australia economists added Tuesday's Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) April meeting minutes and a speech by RBA Governor Glenn Stevens in New York are likely to provide the Australian dollar with some support.

"The RBA April meeting minutes are likely to highlight Australia's resilient labour market," they said.

"Meanwhile, RBA Governor Glenn Stevens is likely to talk up the Australian economy in front of a foreign audience in New York."