:: Australian Dollar: With a severe lack of confidence that a Greek rescue package would eventuate commodities, in particular gold, were sold off aggressively during Friday's offshore session. Spot gold plummeted $20 in quick fashion during early U.S exchange and with no meaningful North American economic data released risk appetite evaporated sending the high yielding Aussie dollar lower. Once technical support at 0.9180 broke the AUD/USD fell sharply to post a low around 0.9130; a slight bounce near the close saw it finish the week at 0.9160. Today sees the release of February New Motor Vehicle sales ahead of what is a light week on the Australian economic calendar.

- We expect a range today in the AUD/USD rate of 0.9100 to 0.9180

:: Great Britain Pound: The Pound tumbled Friday night as new comments from Andrew Sentence, a Bank of England policy maker, hit the airwaves. In an interview with CNBC Sentence said there is 'some risk of a double-dip recession.' The market seized on Sentence's comments and saw the Sterling fall through its 1.5150 barrier to an intra-day low of 1.4988 offshore. This morning sees the Cable open at 1.5018 ahead of UK CPI and retail sales figures. In addition the Pound also opens lower against the Aussie and Kiwi at 1.6387 and 2.1197 respectively.

- We expect a range today in the GBP/AUD rate of 1.6350 to 1.6415

:: New Zealand Dollar: After holding onto a narrow 20 point range between 0.7135 and 0.7155 for the majority of the Asian session on Friday the Kiwi fell below the bottom of the band to exchange as low as 0.7065 in offshore trade. Risk aversion continued for the second consecutive day as confusion around whether the EU or IMF would help support Greece through its debt problems persisted. Investors have grown tired of the epic drama with resolution apparently still some time away. This morning sees the NZD/USD open on its lows, slightly down from Friday's close at 0.7065 whilst the AUD/NZD cross is up from 1.2880 at 1.2925.

- We expect a range today in the NZD/USD rate of 0.7025 to 0.7100

:: Majors: As the division in Europe over Greece becomes more apparent, uncertainties stemming from the pending bailout has sent the euro sharply south before finding support at 1.3500 against the Greenback. The Euro recorded its largest weekly drop against the Dollar since January as concern Greece will fail to secure aid from the European Union saw investor appetites falter. Discouraged investors instead sought safety in the Yen which remained capped at 90.70 despite Japanese Industry activity month on month doubling expectations at 3.8% and investor sentiment gaining 6 points. This morning the Euro opens weaker against the US Dollar at 1.3535 while the Yen remains steady at 90.541.

:: Data Releases:

  • AUD: Feb New Motor Vehicle Sales
  • NZD: No Data Expected
  • USD: Feb Chicago Fed National Activity Index & Fedspeak
  • GBP: No Data Expected
  • EUR: Mar Consumer Confidence
  • JPY: No Data Expected
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