Australian Dollar
The Australian Dollar opens noticeably lower on Thursday against its US counterpart at 1.0391. During yesterday’s domestic session the unit fell half-a-cent from an intraday high of 1.0460 on fears about the Chinese economy as economic data revealed a fall of 5.2 per cent in industrial sector profits for the first two months of 2012. Growth forecasts in China have recently been lowered to 7.5 per cent and this is expected to weigh on next month’s interest rate decision by the Reserve Bank of Australia. Support for the Aussie kicked in around the 1.0420 area. During the offshore session, the unit traded down to a low of 1.0355, losing considerable ground following a government report which showed orders of US Durable goods rose less than forecast . Meanwhile, on the cross rates, the Aussie remains near 5-month lows against the New Zealand Dollar at 1.2712

We expect a range today of 1.0350 -1.0440

New Zealand Dollar
In another quiet session for the New Zealand Dollar, investors sat on the sidelines for the majority of the domestic session as the kiwi drifted aimlessly between a tight 30 basis point range. With global equities closing flat and orders for US durable goods also failing to match expectation demand for the higher yielding asset has been muted overnight which has seen the Kiwi trade between a 24 hour high of 0.8214 and a low of 0.8149 against its US Counterpart. Whilst this morning sees the New Zealand dollar open weaker currently buying 81.75 US Cents attention will revert to local happenings this morning with investors looking towards the NBNZ Business Confidence Survey due for release at 11:00am.

We expect a range today of 0.8140 – 0.8220

Great British Pound
The Pound remained well supported against the Greenback for the majority of the Asian session as the lingering effects of a lower than expected reading in US Consumer Confidence and comments from US Fed Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke about the state of the world’s largest economy kept US Dollar buyers at bay. The 1.60 handle for GBPUSD has been elusive of late and it has almost 4 months since the British Pound has sat above and held this level versus its Trans Atlantic rival. Overnight the release GDP for the last quarter of 2011 came in at -0.3% compared with a forecast of -0.2%, resulting in the Pound being sold off for the majority of the day hitting a low of 1.5881. Against the Australian and New Zealand Dollar, the Pound is exchanging at 1.5280 and 1.9440 respectively.

We expect a range today of 1.5250 -1.5330

Majors:
US Stocks fell overnight after a government report showed orders of durable goods rose in February, albeit at a slower than expected pace. Whilst the overall reading of 2.2 percent growth was below the expected 3 percent reading markets were further weighed down by a slump in the price of crude oil driving energy stocks lower. As investors continue to remain cautious in their outlook European Finance Chiefs are expected to meet in Copenhagen on March 30 where it’s widely expected they will run the 500 billion-euro permanent European Stability Mechanism alongside the 200 Billion euro’s already committed to the existing temporary fund. In a move which would essentially raise Europe’s debt fighting capacity, this comes just weeks after German Chancellor Angela Merkel warned that the real fragility lies within the underlying vulnerabilities off both Portugal and Spain. In currency movements overnight the US Dollar lost some minor ground whilst the 17-Nation Euro traded between a 24 hour range of (1.3276 – 1.3373) before opening at a very similar level to where we saw it yesterday at a rate of 1.3320.

Data releases

AUD:
No Data Today

NZD: NBNZ Business Confidence

JPY:
Retail Sales y/y

GBP: Nationwide HPI m/m, MPC Member Fisher Speaks, BOE Credit Conditions Survey, Net Lending to Individuals m/m, Index of Services 3m/3m, M4 Money Supply m/m, Mortgage Approvals

EUR:
German Unemployment Change

USD:
Unemployment Claims, Final GDP q/q, FOMC Chairman Bernanke Speaks