The Australian dollar has drifted slightly lower ahead of the Reserve Bank of Australia’s April board meeting.

Early on Monday, the local unit was trading at 92.42 US cents, down from 92.66 cents on Friday.

The local currency hit a four-month high of 92.95 US cents on Friday following strong local economic figures and RBA governor Glenn Stevens’ upbeat view of the economy during a speech in Hong Kong.

The currency had dropped off on Monday as investors took profit following and ahead of Tuesday’s RBA meeting, Bank of New Zealand currency strategist Raiko Shareef said.

“The Australian dollar had a very strong week last week,” Mr Shareef said.

“It was the top performing major currency and that was driven mostly by governor Stevens last week failing to take a swipe at the Aussie dollar despite its strength.

“We think there was a bit of profit taking after an exceptional week and also just a bit of taking risk off the table ahead of the RBA meeting this week.”

The RBA is widely expected to leave the cash rate on hold at 2.5 per cent.