:: Australian Dollar: The Australian Dollar jumped to 0.8770 against the US Dollar as Prime Minister Kevin Rudd was forced to resign. Centre left Deputy Julia Gillard became Australia’s first female Prime Minister took office after ousting Rudd. Mining stocks outperformed as Gillard moved to fix relations between the Government and mining companies agreeing to open negotiations on the proposed mining ‘super tax’. Offshore the Aussie dipped below 0.8650 US as investor confidence took a dive over slowdown in US economic activity and fears for a restructuring of Sothern European debt. The Aussie opens today at 0.8671 US Dollars.

- We expect a range today in the AUD/USD rate of 0.8620 to 0.8720

:: Great Britain Pound: The Pound starts that buying 1.4926 versus the Greenback following a less bullish outlook for the US. Overnight the Sterling grabbed 1.5000 US on a few occasions in a sign of strong relative performance on a night when most risk FX was lower. Positivity continues to flow from the UK following this week’s UK budget, Adair Turner, chairman of the U.K. Financial Services Authority, said he’s confident that U.K. banks will pass European Union stress tests ahead of this weekend’s G20 summit.

- We expect a range today in the GBP/AUD rate of 1.7100 to 1.7300

:: New Zealand Dollar: During Asia the Kiwi traded fairly steadily after better than expected GDP figures, reportedly increasing 0.6%, was negated by Australia’s change in leadership. News that New Zealand’s annual current account deficit reached its lowest level in more than 2 decades had little impact on trading as investors focused their attention abroad. Overnight a wave of risk aversion saw the Kiwi sold down to 0.7035 US. Slightly positive US jobless figures propelled the kiwi back above 0.7100 US. This morning the Kiwi buys 0.7080 US Dollars.

- We expect a range today in the NZD/USD rate of 0.7030 to 0.7130

:: Majors: The Yen continued its rally against the US as signs the global economic recovery may be slowing fuelled demand for safe currencies. The pair lay flat during Asia trading around 89.90 before the yen strengthened to 89.21 US offshore as markets become more volatile. Without intervention the stronger Yen may hurt the fragile Japanese economy. Today the USD/JPY opens at 89.63. Data out of the US overnight saw a dip in the Durable Goods Orders for the month whilst Unemployment Claims came in slightly better than forecast at 457,000 compared with a previous reading of 472,000. Market eyes will be on this weekend''s G20 Meeting in Toronto with expected themes to be global growth, the Chinese Yuan and bank taxes.

:: Data Releases: AUD: No data slated for release CAD: No data slated for release EUR: German Import Prices GBP: Bank of England Financial Stability Report JPY: Tokyo and National CPI NZD: Trade Balance USD: Final GDP q/q

Australia United kingdom Julia Gillard