:: Australian Dollar: After experiencing some strong selling pressure in Asia on Friday the Aussie dollar held onto support below 0.8220 to bounce back in aggressive fashion. Spurred on by strong European and U.S economic data the AUD recouped its losses, bouncing back to trade above 0.8380. The AUD opens this morning at 0.8365 against the USD ahead of what is a relatively light start to the week on the Australian economic data front. Today's New Motor Vehicle Sales release is likely to have minimal impact on the currency with local investors likely to take their cues from movements in equity markets domestically and throughout Asia.

- We expect a range today in the AUD/USD rate of 0.8325 to 0.8410

:: Great Britain Pound: With no U.K economic data released on Friday the Pound Sterling took its lead from developments in the broader European economy. The Purchasing Managers Index for both the manufacturing and service sectors beat expectations sending the Greenback lower during the London session. The GBP bounced back to peak near 1.6620 before profit takers stepped in to push it back to 1.6510 during U.S trade. After attempting to break back above 2 in Asia on Friday the GBP/AUD cross rate plummeted in offshore trade as the Aussie dollar rallied and opens this morning testing 1.9700.

- We expect a range today in the GBP/AUD rate of 1.9600 to 1.9780

:: New Zealand Dollar: With global equity markets rallying on Friday risk appetite improved and the Kiwi rallied from late Asian levels of 0.6740 to post an eventual high above 0.6860. Better than expected U.S housing data and comments from Fed Chairman Bernanke talking up the prospects of a return to positive growth for both the U.S and global economies gave investors confidence. The NZD opens this morning at 0.6850 and 1.2225 against the U.S and Australian dollars with no local economic data scheduled for release.

- We expect a range today in the NZD/USD rate of 0.6800 to 0.6880

:: Majors: A better than expected Purchasing Managers Index for Europe as well as a relatively upbeat assessment of the U.S economy by Fed Chairman Bernanke saw a return in risk appetite during Friday's offshore session. Eurozone PMI for both the manufacturing and services sectors beat economist forecasts triggering a rally in EUR/USD from late Asian levels of 1.4240 to an eventual high around 1.4370. Speaking at the Fed's annual symposium U.S Federal Reserve Bank Chairman Ben Bernanke indicated we have seen the worst of the recession with the recover underway. He did however add caution that the pace of the recovery is likely to be relatively slow at first, with unemployment declining only gradually from high levels. Equity markets in the region rallied almost two percentage points spurred on by a larger than expected 7.2% increase in U.S Existing Home sales for the month of July. The big dollar opens at 94.35 and 1.4345 against the Japanese Yen and Euro respectively.

:: Data Releases:

* AUD: Jul New Motor Vehicle Sales
* NZD: No Data Expected today
* USD: Jul Chicago Fed National Activity Index
* GBP: Aug Nationwide House Prices
* EUR: Jun Industrial New Orders
* JPY: Jul Supermarket Sales
* CAD: Jun Retail Sales

United kingdom Manufacturing Ben Bernanke