THE Australian dollar dropped to a one-year low after the head of
the US Federal Reserve said he would consider winding down its
economic stimulus program in the coming months. The currency dropped as low as 96.62 US cents in the early hours of
this morning, its weakest level since June 2012. By 6.30am AEST it
had recovered a little to trade at 96.98 US cents, down from 97.82
cents at yesterday's local close. In testimony to Congress, Fed chairman Ben Bernanke warned that
ending the program called quantitative easing could stall the US'
economic recovery.