:: Australian Dollar: Traders were content to play the ranges between 0.8470 and 0.8510 during yesterday's domestic session in light of the sharp rally above US85 cents the previous day. In offshore trade, the unit came to life and surged higher above US86.50 cents on the back of improved risk sentiment and a weaker greenback across the board. On the economic front, local unemployment data is due for release this morning at 11:30 AEST, with a slight slowdown expected in the number of new positions. Should the amount of full-time jobs exceed expectations, the Aussie is likely to build on the solid gains of the past couple of days. We open on Thursday at 0.8630.

- We expect a range today in the AUD/USD rate of 0.8575 to 0.8690

:: Great Britain Pound: Pound Sterling opens higher today against its US counterpart at 1.5188 and was buoyed overnight after another positive session for UK equities. In overnight trade the pound moved between a low of 1.5080 before nudging two-month highs at 1.5218 as the greenback weakened across the board. Tonight, the Bank of England is expected to leave interest rates on hold at 0.5 per cent and is also widely tipped to hold its asset-purchase program at GBP200bio. Meanwhile, the pound has been outperformed by its antipodean rivals and opens lower against both the Australian Dollar (1.7570) and the New Zealand Dollar (2.1590)

- We expect a range today in the GBP/AUD rate of 1.7520 to 1.7820

:: New Zealand Dollar: The New Zealand Dollar opens sharply higher today at 0.7025 against its U.S. counterpart. In the absence of any local economic data releases, trade during yesterday's domestic session saw the kiwi move between a low of 0.6905 and a high of 0.6945. Greenback weakness pushed the currency higher hitting an offshore peak of 0.7050. Improved risk sentiment and movements in global equity markets are likely to be the main drivers of the local unit for the remainder of the week. The kiwi is steady against its trans-Tasman rival at 0.8125.

- We expect a range today in the NZD/USD rate of 0.6980 to 0.7080

:: Majors: The Euro opens marginally higher at 1.2642, eclipsing recent seven-week highs, for an overnight zenith of 1.2664 as the greenback weakened across the board. However, the 16-nation currency is likely to run into resistance in the near term as the Euro zone sovereign debt situation which has plagued the currency this year, is yet to be fully resolved. The European Central Bank meets tonight and is strongly expected to leave interest rates on hold at 1 per cent. Meanwhile, the greenback opens largely unchanged against the Japanese Yen at 87.60.

:: Data Releases:

  • AUD: Unemployment rate, June
  • CAD: New House Prices, May
  • EUR: ECB Interest Rates
  • GBP: BoE Interest Rates; Industrial Production, May
  • JPY: Current Account, Machinery Orders, May
  • NZD: No data today
  • USD: Initial jobless claims (W/E July 3); Consumer Credit, May
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