The Australian dollar has dropped below 87 US cents after the release of weaker-than-expected retail spending figures.

Retail trade rose 0.1 per cent in August, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said, which was below economists’ expectations of a 0.4 per cent rise.

At 1131 AEST the currency was trading at 86.89 US cents, down from 87.18 US cents just before the data’s release at 1130 AEST

Total retail spending was $23.312 billion in August, up from $23.297 billion in July, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said on Wednesday.