$A falls to 2.5year low after Fed comments The Australian dollar dived to its lowest point in two-and-a-half years after being dealt a double blow by news out of the US and China. At 1700 AEST on Thursday, the local unit was trading at 92.29 US cents, down from 94.92 cents on Wednesday. On Thursday afternoon the currency fell as low as 92.24 US cents, its lowest level since September 2010. The fall came as investors flocked to the US dollar, after Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke said the central bank would be scaling back its $US85 billion-a-month bond-purchase program if the American economy continued to strengthen. The Australian dollar fell 1.5 US cents against the surging US dollar on Thursday morning, immediately after Dr Bernanke's press conference. Most major currencies were also impacted by the news which saw overseas and local stock markets fall. The second blow came after a HSBC survey showed that manufacturing activity in China fell for a second consecutive month. Chris Tedder, research analyst at Forex.com, said fears about slowing growth in China as well as the bolstering of the US dollar by Dr Bernanke's comments, created a "toxic cocktail" for the Australian dollar's strength against the greenback. "The Aussie has been dealt a one-two punch from which it may not recover," said Mr Tedder. The main thing working for the Australian economy at the moment is recent weakness in the Aussie, which is alleviating pressure on trade-exposed sectors of the economy. Mr Tedder said it was too early to tell what impact the lower dollar would have on the economy. He said the lower Australian dollar could spur growth and inflation and possibly result in the Reserve Back raising rates sooner than expected.