The Australian dollar lost half a US cent over the weekend, following sharp falls in US stocks.

Early today the dollar was trading at $US1.0315, down from $US1.0367 on Friday.

The Nasdaq index fell more than two per cent on Friday, and the Dow Jones index fell 1.4 per cent.

Easy Forex currency dealer Anthony Botros said a 1.7 per cent fall in US existing home sales in September and the 25th anniversary of the 1987 stock market crash did not help the market's mood.

Advertisement "The market was a little bit disappointed by the existing home sales out of the US, that kept risk currencies a little bit deflated," he said.

"The 25th anniversary of Black Monday also had markets on edge. Whether the market was superstitious or just remorseful, we didn't really see any positive momentum in the US session on Friday night." Mr Botros said the main event this week would be the release of the Australian consumer price index (CPI) for the September quarter, the key indicator of inflation.

CPI is expected to rise by 1.1 per cent in the three months to September, for an annual rate of 1.6 per cent, according to a survey of 15 economists.

"That would definitely set the tone for the Aussie dollar for the remaining part of the year," Mr Botros said.