Australian Dollar
Expected Range 0.7700 – 0.7800
The Australian dollar lost ground when valued against its US Counterpart on Thursday with a stronger Greenback doing the majority of the damage. Amid declines in crude oil, gold and equities the Australian dollar failed to gain any level on interest on moves towards the 78 US Cents mark, overall losing 0.75 percent over the past 24 hours. Opening lower this morning at a rate of 0.7733 when valued against its US Counterpart, PMI reads from China promise to be the highlight out of the Asian session followed only by secondary data prints from the world’s largest economy to round out the week.
New Zealand Dollar
Expected Range 0.6860 – 0.6950
Having traded between a range of 0.6899 – 0.6983 when valued against its US Counterpart yesterday a notably stronger US Dollar has weighed heavily on New Zealand’s dollar. Coming off earlier highs which initially saw the Kiwi touch its highest level in 10 months, retreating oil price also did little to stem the sell-off. In what’s been a rally fuelled mainly by US dollar weakness, a soft US backdrop will be required if the Kiwi is to once again establish a fresh upward channel. In what’s shaping up as quiet end to the week investors will need to wait until next Thursday when domestic drivers become a key focus ahead of commentary from the RBNZ over current monetary policy settings. The New Zealand dollar opens lower this morning at a rate of 0.6910.
Great British Pound
Expected Range 1.8450 – 1.8550
The Great British Pound has fallen when valued against its American rival overnight following the release of retail sales data for March. Dropping to a low of 1.4299 sales plummeted by 1.3 percent, a number well below the 0.1 percent decline which had previously been forecasted. Notching up its largest monthly fall since early 2014, the annual level of growth has subsequently fallen even further behind target. Lower against the Greenback this morning (1.4320), the Great British Pound is stronger versus both the Australian Dollar (1.8500) and the New Zealand dollar (2.0709).
Majors
Expected Range N/A
In what’s been described as a robust defence of the ECB’s current monetary position, President Mario Draghi overnight defended his cheap money policy stating that printing money and keeping borrowing costs down was working. Adding also that interest rates would need to be kept low for an extended period, he stated that any questions over the credibility of a central bank only delays the achievement of their objectives. Dampening only marginally the appeal of the euro, the 17-nation currency opens 10 basis points lower this morning at a rate of 1.1285 when valued against its US Counterpart. In other moves overnight, US stocks fell as did commodities and oil, moves supportive of a stronger Greenback. In a session dominated by US Dollar strength there were further signs of labour market tightening after the number of Americans filing for weekly unemployment claims fell to its lowest level since 1973.