:: Australian Dollar: The Australian Dollar opens largely unchanged at 0.8160 after the domestic market's insipid reaction to yesterday's local inflation data which picked up in the June quarter by 0.5 per cent for a lower annualised reading of 1.5 per cent. With the CPI rate beneath the Reserve Bank's target range of 2-3 per cent, the door remains open for another interest rate cut should the need arise. Following the release, which was in line with market expectations, the Aussie rallied about 20 points to an intraday high of 0.8165 before drifting lower for most of the remaining local session. Offshore, the unit briefly traded at US82 cents but the rally was short-lived as risk appetite waned. There is no local economic data scheduled for release on Thursday.

- We expect a range today in the AUD/USD rate of 0.8080 to 0.8220

:: Great Britain Pound: Pound Sterling opens at 1.6470 against its US counterpart on Thursday and moved lower against the Euro (0.8631) as a UK reports showed that house prices are likely to remain in decline until 2012. The pound is still reeling from recent news concerning the large UK budget deficit and the currency is unlikely to receive much support later in the week when second-quarter GDP data is announced. Meanwhile, the pound opens steady against the Australian Dollar at 2.0190 and lower against the New Zealand Dollar at 2.4980.

- We expect a range today in the GBP/AUD rate of 1.9980 to 2.0280

:: New Zealand Dollar: The New Zealand Dollar had another speculative foray above the US66-cent mark overnight as global equities continued their recent run higher reducing the demand for the greenback as a safety option. However, the rally was short-lived as US equities bucked the trend and finished the session lower pushing the high-yielders down also. The market is equity and sentiment-driven at the moment in the absence of any local economic data. The kiwi has out-performed the Australian Dollar overnight and opens higher at 0.8060.

- We expect a range today in the NZD/USD rate of 0.6500 to 0.6620

:: Majors: The big dollar was mixed across the board overnight and opens little-changed against the Euro (1.4219) and the Japanese Yen (93.51). Early in the session the greenback moved lower as another rally in global equities reduced demand for safety whilst US economic data revealed that home prices had their smallest drop in 10 months signalling a potential halt to the three-year housing slump. Also weighing against the greenback in recent sessions has been renewed interest in emerging and commodity currencies such as the South African Rand and Canadian Dollar. US equities finished the session lower after banks slid and oil dropped for the first time in six days.

:: Data Releases:
• AUD: No Data Today
• CAD: Bank of Canada Monetary Policy Report
• EUR: No Data Today
• GBP: Retails Sales, June
• JPY: No Data Today
• NZD: No Data Today
• USD: Exisiting and New Home Sales, June; Uni of Michigan Confidence, July; Initial Jobless Claims, July.

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