:: Australian Dollar: The Aussie dollar survived a brief selloff in Asia yesterday to bounce back from intraday lows of around 0.9175 and open at 0.9265 this morning. Analysts had been expecting an increase in the TD securities December Inflation gauge however the 0.3% result signalled no change from the previous months 0.3% increase, disappointing some and triggering the dip. Commodity prices; in particular Oil, Copper and Gold all rallied overnight boosting sentiment towards the AUD ahead of this week's Chinese economic growth data which will also keep the spotlight on the AUD/USD exchange rate.

- We expect a range today in the AUD/USD rate of 0.9230 to 0.9300

:: Great Britain Pound: The Cable received a boost in early offshore trade yesterday following an increase of 4.1% in the annualised Rightmove House Price index which measures the asking prices for U.K homes. GBP/USD jumped from 1.6270 to post an eventual overnight high around 1.6380 before retreating in holiday thinned U.S trade to open this morning back at 1.6330. The GBP/AUD cross rate bounced from its overnight low of 1.7580 to exchange at 1.7620 at the time of writing with this evenings U.K CPI and RPI data releases sure to keep the cross volatile.

- We expect a range today in the GBP/AUD rate of 1.7550 to 1.7700

:: New Zealand Dollar: The Kiwi started the week on a negative note gapping lower on the open yesterday to exchange as low as 0.7330 in early morning trade. The Real Estate Institute of New Zealand, known as the REINZ, published a disappointing December House Price Index of -0.9% which added to the selling. Support held firm however and NZD/USD managed to claw back the majority of its losses to enter offshore at 0.7360. Despite the U.S markets being closed due to the Martin Luther King holiday the Kiwi continued to rally posting a high around 74 cents on the back of gains in the commodity prices and the Aussie dollar.

- We expect a range today in the NZD/USD rate of 0.7350 to 0.7420

:: Majors: The Yen softened during yesterday's Asian trading session, exchanging back above 91 against the Greenback following lacklustre economic data. Japanese Industrial Production declined by 4.2% for the year to November, down from the previous months annualised -3.9% result. Resistance above the 91 handle however capped any attempts at further advances during offshore trade and USD/JPY levelled out to open around 90.75 this morning. With no major European or U.S data releases overnight and North American equity markets closed for the Martin Luther King holiday it was a relatively subdued offshore session. The big dollar also weakened somewhat against the Euro to open this morning at 1.4385 with European finance ministers meeting to discuss a variety of topics adding some support to the Euro. Investors have been expecting some upbeat comments about the prospects for European economic growth in 2010, a possible announcement of a new ECB Vice President and a commitment to supporting Greece through its current economic woes.

:: Data Releases:

  • AUD: Dec Merchandise Imports
  • NZD: No Data Expected Today
  • USD: Nov TIC Flows & Jan NAHB Housing Market Index
  • GBP: DecCPI & Dec RPI
  • EUR: Jan ZEW Survey & Nov Construction Output
  • JPY: Dec Consumer Confidence
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