Aussie at 6-year low vs dollar as investors focus on Fed rate hike timing; Euro drops after Greek vote

On Thursday the Australian dollar and the euro were lower in Asia trade as investors looked ahead to the timing of a likely Federal Reserve rate hike later in 2015.

Meanwhile in Europe, Greece passed an austerity bill late on Wednesday in a fiery session of parliament.

AUD/USD dropped to 0.7350 during late Asian trade, the pair's lowest since May 2009. The pair was last at 0.7377, down 0.05%.

Earlier, data showed that MI Australia inflation expectations saw consumer prices at a weighted-mean 2.6% in June compared to 2.3% in the previous survey.

The weighted-mean gauge includes inflation expectations between zero and 5% and is closer to the RBA band of 2% to 3%. A rise in expectations is surprising, but are near expectations for inflation to remain within the target band.

The Aussie was sharply higher against the New Zealand dollar, with AUD/NZD rallying 0.96% to 1.1296.

In New Zealand, Statistics New Zealand said that CPI rose to a seasonally adjusted 0.4%, from -0.3% in the preceding quarter. Analysts had expected CPI to rise 0.6% in the last quarter.

The numbers were in line with Reserve Bank estimates, though since the last monetary-policy statement the exchange rate has fallen on a trade-weighted basis and is currently close to 7% below where the RBNZ forecast for the current quarter. 

Separate data showed that the New Zealand Business Manufacturing Index rose to 55.2 in June from a reading of 51.5 the previous month.

In Europe, late Wednesday Greece's parliament approved the bailout package presented by PM Alexis Tsipras. He now has untied hands to work with the creditors to obtain emergency funding.

The vote came as violent protests broke in front the Greek parliament in Athens on Wednesday evening contesting the bailout package.

EUR/USD was last at 1.0935, lower 0.14%.