:: Australian Dollar: The Australian Dollar opens the new week lower at 0.8283. The Aussie hit an eleven-month high of 0.8475 last Friday after the Reserve Bank of Australia governor Mr Glenn Stevens said a normal cash rate is noticeably higher than the current level of 3 per cent. Last week, the local unit covered more ground than the early explorers but was stopped in its tracks on Friday night after an unexpected decline in US consumer sentiment severely hampered risk appetite. During the New York session the Aussie plummeted US2-cents to an overnight low of 0.8275.

- We expect a range today in the AUD/USD rate of 0.8180 to 0.8320

:: Great Britain Pound: Pound Sterling opens lower today at 1.6500 and is likely to remain on the back foot on speculation that economic data due for release this week will add to signs the recession has further to run. On Friday night the pound traded between a low of 1.6483 and a high of 1.6606 with many investors on the sidelines in the lead-up to tomorrow's inflation data. Meanwhile, the pound opens higher against the Australian Dollar (1.9880) and steady against the New Zealand Dollar (2.4435).

- We expect a range today in the GBP/AUD rate of 1.9800 to 2.0000

:: New Zealand Dollar: The New Zealand Dollar opens marginally lower on Monday at 0.6740 after another volatile session. The kiwi hit a new ten-and-a-half month high on Friday night of 0.6886 on the back of an unexpected rise in local retail sales which grew a seasonal adjusted 0.4 per cent in the second quarter. The dizzy heights were short-lived however and the kiwi fell back towards 0.6742 late in the New York session after an unexpected decline in US consumer sentiment severely hampered risk appetite. The NZD continues to outperform the Aussie however and the cross-rate has moved higher to open the new week at 0.8130.

- We expect a range today in the NZD/USD rate of 0.6680 to 0.6795

:: Majors: The Euro weakened against the greenback on Friday night despite gross domestic product in the 16-nation zone contracting 0.1 per cent in the first quarter - far lower than the market expectation of a 0.5 per cent contraction. The Euro opens on Monday at 1.4182 as the market eschewed risk amid mixed economic data coming out of the United States. Consumer sentiment unexpectedly decreased in August to 63.2 - the lowest reading since March - and down from 66 in July. Foreign exchange markets ignored other data such as benign US inflation (the core index rose 0.1 per cent in July) and a pick-up in capacity utilization to 68.5 in July compared to 68.1 in June. Meanwhile, the Japanese Yen (94.68) also gained ground on the back of increased risk aversion.

:: Data Releases:

* AUD: No Data Today
* CAD: No Data Today
* EUR: EZ Trade Balance, June
* GBP: Rightmove house prices, August
* JPY: No Data Today
* NZD: No Data Today
* USD: Empire Manufacturing; NAHB Housing market Index, August

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