The Australian dollar is slightly lower as traders wait for the release of the minutes of the Reserve Bank of Australia’s May board meeting.

At 0700 AEST on Tuesday, the local unit was trading at 93.30 US cents, down from 93.50 cents on Monday.

BK Asset Management managing director Kathy Lien said there was very little movement in currency markets at the moment.

“Over the past month, we have seen all of the major currency pairs trade in increasingly narrow ranges and not only is this evident in the day to day movements of currencies but their option volatility is also trading well below long term averages,” she said.

Minutes from the Reserve Bank of Australia’s May board meeting, where it left the cash rate unchanged for the ninth month in a row, will be released on Tuesday.

Investors will be looking for any indications of the timing of the bank’s next move.

Lien said she does not expect much of a surprise from the RBA minutes.

“At the time, nothing new was said by the central bank who maintained a neutral monetary policy stance and called the value of currency high by historical standards, a comment that investors interpreted to represent only mild concern about the level of the currency,” Lien said.

“There was very little consistency in the changes in Australia and China’s economy between the last two meetings in that there was slightly more weakness than improvement in Australia, but Chinese data signaled a potential bottom for Australia’s largest trading partner.”

AAP