Australian Dollar: The Aussie dollar rallied in local trade yesterday following some relatively upbeat comments out of the G7 and another strong reading in the ANZ job advertisements. After opening the weeks trade around 0.8650 investors flocked to the AUD ahead of today's RBA interest rate meeting with some sections of the market expecting a rate increase. Although this seems unlikely at this stage positive sentiment from offshore overnight sees the AUD/USD exchanging near its overnight highs at 0.8775 with the Australian Trade Balance data for August also scheduled for release today.

- We expect a range today in the AUD/USD rate of 0.8720 to 0.8820

Great Britain Pound: The Pound Sterling rallied on the London open following a better than expected reading on the September Purchasing Managers Index for the services sector. The forecast was for a modest increase from 54.1 to around 54.5 however the rise to 55.3 triggered a jump in GBP/USD to a momentary high back above the psychological 1.6 level. In a concerning sign the move failed to sustain itself however despite broad based weakness in the Greenback against the other majors. The Sterling opens in Asia this morning exchanging at 1.5935 and 1.8155 against the U.S and Australian dollars respectively.

- We expect a range today in the GBP/AUD rate of 1.8080 to 1.8200

New Zealand Dollar: The Kiwi tracked the Aussie dollar higher yesterday after positive talk out of the G7 and a large increase in the September ANZ Commodity Price Index. The NZD/USD rallied from 0.7140 and spent the majority of the offshore session hovering around the 72 cent mark. With U.S economic data beating expectations overnight the markets came to life late in the session and as equity market finished up over 1% the Kiwi also traded higher to open this morning near 73 cents.

- We expect a range today in the NZD/USD rate of 0.7250 to 0.7320

Majors: The Euro received a boost in early offshore trade buoyed by better than expected Euro-zone Retail Sales and PMI data. Economists had been expecting consumer spending to increase its decline from -0.2% in July to around -0.4% in August however and despite the number still being negative the -0.2% result for the month came as somewhat of a relief to many. EUR/USD initially rallied following the announcement pushing to 1.4650 before investors took profit amidst concern that Friday's negative sentiment out of the U.S could continue. After drifting back towards 1.4600 the Euro once again rallied following an increase in September U.S ISM services to its highest level since May 2008. With North American equity markets finishing the session up over 1% investors dumped the Greenback taking the big dollar down to 1.4665 and 89.45 against the Euro and Yen respectively.

Data Releases:

  • AUD: Aug Trade Balance & RBA Rate Decision
  • NZD: Q3 NZIER Business Opinion Survey
  • USD: Oct 4 ABC Consumer Confidence
  • GBP: Aug Industrial Production
  • EUR: No Data Expected
  • JPY: No Data Expected
  • CAD: Aug Building Permits & Sep Ivey PMI

Note: The above exchange rates are based on interbank rates. If you are considering a transfer then please login, register or call us for a live dealing rate.

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