Forex Daily Commentary - 24/07/2009

:: Australian Dollar: The Australian Dollar opens in familiar territory on Friday at 0.8120 against its US counterpart. The Aussie had another two failed attempts to crack the US82 cent barrier overnight but at this stage there is more resistance than the recent batting heroics of James Anderson and Monty Panesar. However, unlike the looping off-breaks of Marcus North, currency markets are poised to eventually show more penetration on the back of ongoing demand for the high-yielding Aussie as the global economic outlook shows tentative signs of improvement.

- We expect a range today in the AUD/USD rate of 0.8060 to 0.8200

:: Great Britain Pound: Pound Sterling opens steady against the greenback on Friday at 1.6480. The pound pushed to an high of 1.6580 early in the session as UK retail sales jumped by a higher-than-expected 1.2 per cent for the month of June as heavy discounts encouraged shoppers back into the stores. The rally was short-lived as positive US data late in the session pushed the greenback higher against several of its major rivals. Looming large for the pound tonight is the release of second-quarter GDP data which is expected to show a 0.3 per cent contraction. Meanwhile, the Pound opens higher against both the Australian Dollar (2.0250) and the New Zealand Dollar (2.5190).

- We expect a range today in the GBP/AUD rate of 2.0050 to 2.0300

:: New Zealand Dollar: The New Zealand Dollar opens on Friday a touch lower against the greenback at 0.6540. The kiwi had yet another attempt overnight to break through the nine-month peak of 0.6630 as global equities continued their recent surge for a ninth-straight session. However, nothing is ever a straight line up and profit-takers moved in early this morning to push the high-yielding currencies lower. Global risk sentiment and equity markets are likely to continue to drive the currency in the absence of any local economic data today.

- We expect a range today in the NZD/USD rate of 0.6480 to 0.6580

:: Majors: The greenback opens higher against the Euro (1.4152) and the Japanese Yen (94.94) after another strong session on Wall Street and better-than-expected economic data. Sales of existing homes in the United States rose in June for a third consecutive month backing up Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke's recent claims that the worst housing slump in 80 years appears to be moderating. Global equity markets continued their recent surge and the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 2 per cent to finish above the 9000 mark for the first time since January. However, curbing greenback enthusiasm was data showing the number of Americans filing unemployment claims jumped last week by 30,000.

:: Data Releases: