The dollar dropped to its weakest levels since mid-November on Thursday after the Federal Reserve disappointed forex investors expecting a more hawkish policy stance. Overnight, the Aussie soared after data showed a record trade surplus.
The dollar index, which tracks the U.S. currency against a basket of six major rivals, fell almost half a percentage point to 99.30.
USD/JPY dollar slipped more than 0.65 percent to 112.40, edging closer to Tuesday's low of 112.08, while the EUR/USD trades above 1.08 to a high of 1.0818.
The Fed on Wednesday presented a relatively upbeat view of the U.S. economy at its first meeting since President Donald Trump took the oval office. Despite this the greenback came off session highs overnight when policymakers noted some market-based measures of inflation were still low.
While the Fed stopped short from giving a timeline for the next interest rate-hike, policymakers said job gains remained solid, inflation had increased and economic confidence was rising.
The ADP National Employment Report showed private employers added 246,000 jobs in January, up from 151,000 in December. The nonfarm payrolls report on Friday is expected to show employers added 175,000 jobs last month.
AUD/USD surged 1.2 percent to 0.7674, its loftiest peak since November 2016. Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed a trade surplus of A$3.51 billion ($2.68 billion) in December, firmly beating forecasts of A$2.2 billion, as surging commodity prices showered the resource-rich nation in cash.
