Daily Forecast - 17/3/2010

:: Australian Dollar: The Australian Dollar opens higher against the greenback today at 0.9180. Minutes from the March RBA board meeting released yesterday showed that rates may be kept steady next month which kept a lid on the Aussie during local trade, hitting an intraday low of 0.9120. At the start of?the offshore session, the unit was trading around 0.9150 ahead of the interest rate announcement in the United States.?The U.S. Federal Reserve kept their main interest rate on hold at 0 - 0.25 per cent which saw the Aussie climb half a cent to this morning's opening level. The accompanying statement by the Federal Open Market Committee reiterated that current conditions are likely to warrant exceptionally low levels of the federal funds rate for an extended period.

- We expect a range today in the AUD/USD rate of 0.9140 to 0.9210

:: Great Britain Pound: The Pound dipped below the 1.50 to an overnight low of 1.4975 versus the US Dollar at the start of offshore trading triggered by critical comments from the European Commission stating 'the fiscal strategy in the convergence programme is not sufficiently ambitious'. The Sterling recovered shortly after as Chief Secretary to the Treasury Liam Byrne defended the government's action and hotter than expected DCLG house prices, shooting up 6.2% from the previous year. The Pound rallied up to a top of 1.5260 against the Greenback there after as investors focused on the FOMC release in which the Fed vowed to keep rates low for an extended period and end its special liquidity facility. The Pound opens today at 1.5245 against the US dollar. Meanwhile, the pound opens slightly higher against both the Australian Dollar (1.6580) and the New Zealand Dollar (2.1460).

- We expect a range today in the GBP/AUD rate of 1.6540 to 1.6630

:: New Zealand Dollar: The New Zealand Dollar opens higher today at 0.7080.?It was another local session without any economic data which kept the unit within its recent range against the greenback between 0.6990 and 0.7080. The unit commenced the offshore session around 0.7050 ahead of the interest rate announcement in the United States.?The U.S. Federal Reserve kept their benchmark rates on hold at 0 - 0.25 per cent pushing the kiwi higher. The accompanying statement by the Federal Open Market Committee reiterated that current conditions are likely to warrant exceptionally low levels of the federal funds rate for an extended period. Meanwhile, the kiwi has picked up some ground against the Australian Dollar and opens at 0.7715.

- We expect a range today in the NZD/USD rate of 0.7040 to 0.7210

:: Majors: The Yen advanced breaking 90.00 against the US dollar during yesterday's Asian trade as optimism for financial assistance from the European Union for Greece waned. Entering offshore trade the Euro rallied against the US Dollar as S&P affirmed Greece's BBB+ credit rating and dropped the country from 'credit watch negative' and German economic sentiment improved more than expected. Positive news from Europe saw investors easing away from the Yen after the morning's initial flight to safety. Following the Fed's release the Euro opens at 1.3770 just below its overnight high of 1.3775. In the lead up to the Bank of Japan's monetary policy statement today which may see the country's lending program extended, the Yen opens at 90.255 versus the US Dollar.

:: Data Releases: