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“The day the Fed becomes more clear, and we get a better sense of the timing and structure of the rate-hike cycle, these currencies will plunge to new lows,” said Paresh Upadhyaya, the Boston-based director of currency strategy at Pioneer Investment Management Inc., which oversees about $250 billion.

The loonie traded at 80.64 U.S. cents as of 2:14 p.m. in Tokyo Thursday, little changed from the previous day, when it rose 0.6%. It reached an almost six-year low at 78.74 on Jan. 30.

Australia’s dollar was unchanged at 78.17 U.S. cents from New York, after touching a 5 1/2-year low of 76.26 last month.

Greenback Momentum

The two have slumped more than 10% in the past six months versus the greenback as declines in the prices of iron ore and crude oil, the biggest exports from Australia and Canada, derail investments and economic growth. Meanwhile, Fed officials, led by Chair Janet Yellen, are ramping up efforts in telegraphing the first U.S. rate rise since 2006.

Traders have pulled forward expectations for the Fed to begin tightening in September from October after Vice Chairman Stanley Fischer said last week the central bank looked most likely to raise interest rates then, or even as early as June. That helped give the dollar a new wave of momentum, pushing the Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index on Wednesday to its highest close in more than 10 years.

A combination of “the broad dollar upswing” and the “fallout” from lower commodity prices will continue to weigh on the Aussie and loonie, Robin Brooks, New York-based chief currency strategist at Goldman Sachs Group Inc., said in an interview in Sydney Thursday. He sees Australia’s currency falling to 72 U.S. cents by year-end, while the Canadian dollar slumps to 75.75 U.S. cents.