The Australian dollar bounced overnight as traders were caught off guard when the US Federal Reserve gave no clear indication around the timing of its first interest rate rise in almost a decade. 
The Australian dollar traded as low as US73.12&cent; overnight before a rapid reversal upon the release of the minutes, jumping US0.6&cent; before steadying to trade at US73.5&cent; on Thursday morning.
The minutes showed those responsible for the rate decision thought a recent positive economic data in the US had not yet reached a solid enough point to raise rates, but agreed a rise was coming. US inflation data released on Wednesday showed the extent of inflation had been capped so far by the stronger dollar.
On Thursday morning, Westpac market strategist Imre Speizer said the Australian dollar would remain vulnerable to further drops in the next few weeks.
Capital Economics chief US economist Paul Ashworth said the selling off the greenback, which drove the Australian dollar up, was "a bit overdone" as the Fed minutes did not rule out a   September rate hike.
"In short, as long as the incoming data on GDP growth and the labour market match the Fed's existing forecasts, officials would be confident enough that inflation was going to 2 per cent in the medium-term to start raising rates."
The market is currently pricing in about a 50 per cent chance of a   September raise, which is likely to hit the US dollar and set off a chain reaction of currency movements throughout the world.
The other key international issue pushing the Australian dollar lower is concerns about China's slowing growth, which was echoed in the meeting minutes.
Soci&eacute;t&eacute; G&eacute;n&eacute;rale's chief US economist Aneta Markowska said while Chinese-sparked volatility and recent domestic data made the US Federal Reserve's timing harder to gauge, her team was still anticipating a   September rate increase.
"China's de-pegging the yuan has relatively small direct implications for US growth and inflation outlook but could delay the [rate] lift-off if it triggers broader weakness in emerging market currencies leading to capital outflows and tighter global financial conditions," said.
Citi economists are also forecasting the first rate rise to occur in   September, but with following rate raises occurring at a slower rate than in previous rate cycles because the global outlook was "highly delicate".