Money and Forex Blog

:: Australian Dollar: The Australian Dollar started the week above 0.85 cents and this theme continued in holiday thinned trade as Australia celebrated the Queen’s Birthday yesterday. During the local session the Australian Dollar moved onwards and upwards hitting a high of during Australian time of 0.8575. In offshore trade the little battler moved up to a high of 0.8656 after stronger than expected Euro zone economic data supported the Euro and the “risk trade” was back on. The Aussie opens today at 0.8570. On the local data front today we see the release of the minutes from the Reserve Bank of Australia’s June meeting. The tone of these minutes and any mention to future direction of local interest rates will dictate the Aussie Dollars direction intraday

- We expect a range today in the AUD/USD rate of 0.8500 to 0.8610

:: Great Britain Pound: Pound Sterling opens higher against the greenback today at 1.4730 on speculation interest rates may need to rise. Sterling hit a one-month high of 1.4808 after a report from the Confederation of British Industry raised its forecast for gross domestic product. Policy-maker Andrew Sentance said officials face “interesting debates” in the second half of 2010 on how long stimulus measures will need to be kept in place. Meanwhile, the pound opens lower against both the Australian Dollar (1.7170) and the New Zealand Dollar (2.1210).

- We expect a range today in the GBP/AUD rate of 1.7110 to 1.7220

:: New Zealand Dollar: The New Zealand Dollar mirrored the Aussie Dollar yesterday moving upwards during local trade. Despite a disappointing release of Retail Sales yesterday (Actual -0.3%; previous 0.5%) the Kiwi managed to hold onto its recent advances and appears to have the 0.70 cents figure firmly in its sights. During offshore trade, the NZ Dollar traded between 0.6910 and 0.7010. Against the Australian Dollar, the Kiwi is largely unchanged and is exchanging at 1.2330. With no data slated for release out of the land of the long white cloud for the remainder of the week, the New Zealand Dollar will be at the mercy of offshore events and happenings.

- We expect a range today in the NZD/USD rate of 0.6910 to 0.6990

:: Majors: The Euro (1.2210) moved higher against the big dollar overnight on better-than-expected economic data. Industrial production rose 0.8 per cent in April, following March’s 1.6 per cent expansion, pushing the 16-nation currency to a 24-hour high of 1.2297 – the biggest intraday move in more than two weeks. The gains were short-lived however, as Moody’s Investor Services lowered Greece’s credit rating to non-investment grade. The Euro moved to a low of 1.2115 as attention was once again drawn to the unresolved problems of the EU. Meanwhile, the greenback opens marginally higher against the Japanese Yen at 91.50.

:: Data Releases:
AUD: RBA Minutes
CAD: No data today
EUR: No data today
GBP: CPI May
JPY: Interest rates, June
NZD: No data today
USD: Empire Manufacturing, NAHB Housing Index, June