:: Australian Dollar: The Australian dollar advanced again for the second day against the Greenback pushed on by gains in commodities. The US dollar resisted the Aussie's several attempts to break past 0.9200 US last night. Investors flocked to the US dollar after US consumer confidence jumped to 52.5 from 46.4 in the previous month causing the Aussie to slip down to 0.9170. In the lead up to today's highly anticipated Australian retail sales and building approvals the Aussie opens buying 0.9180 US dollars.

- We expect a range today in the AUD/USD rate of 0.9120 to 0.9220

:: Great Britain Pound: The Pound rallied for the third day against the US dollar as fourth quarter GDP was revised higher than expected upwards to 0.4% from 0.3% the previous quarter. In further testament that things are on the mend for the UK economy, Nationwide housing prices increased 0.7% opposed to the expected 0.2% and the Current Account deficit was well below estimates of -4.6 billion reported to be -1.7 billion, the smallest since 2008. Given the massive bearish sentiment surrounding the currency these surprising results drove the Pound to its highest level in a week last night reaching 1.5126. Ahead of tonight's UK manufacturing statistics the Pound opens this morning buying 1.5064 US, 1.6395 Aussie and 2.1220 Kiwi.

- We expect a range today in the GBP/AUD rate of 1.6250 to 1.6500

:: New Zealand Dollar: Yesterday NZ government reports revealed building approvals had risen for the first time in three months. The number of permits increased by 5.9% in February a further sign the Reserve Bank of New Zealand will have to raise its benchmark rates. The Kiwi supported by gains in commodities and the Australian Dollar increased its gains on the US dollar reaching 0.7130; its highest level in a week offshore. The Kiwi was underpinned after the release of further evidence that the US is finding its feet sparked a late rally for the Greenback. The NZ dollar opens this morning at 0.7100 US ahead of today's NBNZ business confidence report.

- We expect a range today in the NZD/USD rate of 0.7000 to 0.7100

:: Majors: The Euro rallied breaking 1.3500 US in the wake of Greece's successful auction of 5 billion Euros satisfying is financing needs for April. The initial flurry waned as the market remained concerned that the key structural issues resulting in the crisis have not been resolved. Mounting pressure on the Euro is news that Ireland's banks may need at least 31.8 billion Euros after the real estate slump left them crippled by bad loans and Iceland's credit ratings were cut by S&P last night. Meanwhile Japanese data continues to disappoint with industrial production and household spending falling -0.5% and -0.9% respectively. In the wake of increasingly strong US consumer confidence the Yen fell to just over 93.00 while the Euro hit a low of 1.3395 US. Ahead of Japan's Tankan business sentiment survey this morning and European unemployment figures this evening, both Euro and Yen open lower at 1.3412 and 92.78 relative to the US dollar.

:: Data Releases:

  • AUD: Feb Retail Sales, Feb Building Approvals & Feb Private Sector Credit
  • CAD: No data slated for release
  • EUR: Feb Employment Report & March CPI flash Estimate
  • GBP: Mar GfK Consumer Confidence Survey
  • JPY: Feb Housing Starts, Mar Small Business Confidence & Feb Construction Orders
  • NZD: NBNZ Business Confidence Survey
  • USD: Mar Chicago PMI, Feb Factory Orders & Mar ADP Employment change
Japan United kingdom Iceland Retail sales