:: Australian Dollar: The Australian Dollar opens lower on Thursday at 0.7780 in what may be the beginning of the correction we had to have. The Aussie hit a local high of 0.7873 on Wednesday after the Westpac-Melbourne Institute consumer confidence survey soared 9.3 per cent in July, following the 12.7 per cent surge in June. The Aussie traded as high as 0.7897 during offshore trade but has fallen steadily in line with weaker equity and commodity markets. Notably, gold has fallen US$13 to $908.34/ounce. Today sees the release of the June labour force data with most economists tipping a rise in the unemployment rate to 5.9 per cent. Jobs data is closely watched these days by currency markets as they provide interest rate clues and any number beginning with a ‘6' at 11:30 AEST today is likely to send the Australian Dollar sharply lower.

- We expect a range today in the AUD/USD rate of 0.7720 to 0.7820

:: Great Britain Pound: Pound Sterling opens lower today against its US counterpart at 1.6060, falling on speculation the Bank of England will expand its asset-purchase program at tomorrow's meeting. Any boost to the supply of pounds is viewed by the market as having a negative effect on the level of the currency. Overnight, the pound declined to 1.5982, its lowest level against the greenback since June 8. With honours even after day 1 of the test match, the pound opens slightly higher against the Australian Dollar (2.0610) and steady against the New Zealand Dollar (2.5650).

- We expect a range today in the GBP/AUD rate of 2.0450 to 2.0750

:: New Zealand Dollar: The New Zealand Dollar opens lower today at 0.6250 and tracked it's Trans Tasman cousin last night, moving almost in tandem as market participants continue to weigh up the level of exposure they are willing to have with high yielding currencies. During Asian trade, volumes were extremely thin and saw the Kiwi track sideways in a 40 point range (0.6260 to 0.6293). Overnight, the kiwi hit a high above 0.6360 before falling steadily in line with weaker equity and commodity markets. With no data of note scheduled for release out of New Zealand this week, the Kiwi will be at the mercy to offshore events and happenings.

- We expect a range today in the NZD/USD rate of 0.6220 to 0.6345

:: Majors: The big dollar took a battering against a resurgent Japanese Yen overnight as the uncertain outlook for second-quarter corporate earnings in the United States continue to occupy the minds of currency traders. The Yen gained as much as 3.3 per cent overnight and hit 91.79 overnight - its strongest level against the greenback since February 17. It was also the biggest intraday trading range (91.79 - 94.87) since November 17, 2008. Global equity and commodity markets were on the back foot overnight with oil falling to US$60.15 per barrel sending global risk-sentiment down with it. The stronger yen overnight is at odds with local economic data released yesterday where Japanese machine orders fell for a third month in a row in a sign the recession is far from over. Meanwhile, the Euro opens lower against the greenback at 1.3880.

:: Data Releases:
• AUD: Labour Force, June
• CAD: Housing Starts, June
• EUR: No Data Today
• GBP: Bank of England rate announcement, July
• JPY: No Data Today
• NZD: No Data Today
• USD: Inventories, May: Initial jobless claims, July

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