Australian Dollar
The Australian dollar dropped against most its 16 major counterparties yesterday after Treasurer Wayne Swan said that in order for the government to meet its budget surplus pledge, further spending cuts will be required. Further compounding the woes of the Aussie dollar concern has continued to mount that Chinese manufacturing is losing momentum, curbing demand for the Nations commodity exports. After starting the day at a rate of 1.0404 against its US Counterpart the Australian Dollar managed to lose more than a full cent late in the Asian session reaching an eventual low of 1.0303. Despite the US and European economies both starting to gain some momentum the Aussie has failed to ride such waves, subsequently weighed down by its focus on China. Meanwhile this morning the Australian Dollar opens at a very similar level to where we started yesterday, recovering well from an earlier sell off, currently trading at a rate of 1.0383

We expect a range today of 1.0320 – 1.0430

New Zealand Dollar
The New Zealand Dollar failed to attract any buyers for much of the Asian session yesterday drifting 20 basis points either side of its opening levels around the 0.8150 handle. Despite data showing business confidence improved last month the real action didn’t start until US investors came to the party which saw the Kiwi sold to an overnight low of 0.8115. Recovering well from the consistent sell- off however we open at a remarkably similar level to where we saw it yesterday currently buying 81.71 US Cents. With concerns still lingering over China’s growth prospects, positive GDP Figures out of the US and an overall more stable European Zone has done little to help the cause of the Kiwi which appears to be running into some stiff resistance around the 0.8250 mark against the Greenback

We expect a range today of 0.8120 – 0.8220

Great British Pound
The lingering effects of Wednesday night’s worse than expected GDP reading for the last quarter of 2011 kept the Pound pegged below the 1.59 mark for the majority of Thursday’s Asian trading session. Following a flat start to the day the performance of the Sterling improved as it entered offshore trade reaching an eventual high of 1.5954. Despite data releases confirming the UK housing market remains depressed as well the significant headwinds being felt out of its European neighbours the Great British Pound opens stronger this morning at a rate 1.5350. Versus its Southern Hemisphere counterparts the GBP is up against both the Aussie (1.5362) and the Kiwi (1.9516)

We expect a range today of 1.5300 - 1.5420

Majors:
The Standard & Poor’s 500 slipped 0.2 percent yesterday after early falling as much as 1 percent as investors looked to square up positions for the final days trade of the first quarter. In news flows out of the US Fed Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke continued his relatively downbeat assessment of the US economy stating that the recovery remains extremely sluggish amid a labour market still struggling with an unemployment rate of 8.3 percent. Despite weekly Unemployment Claims falling in the US to the lowest level since April 2008 as well as GDP Figures revealing the US economy grew at a 3 percent annual rate in the last three months of 2011, in line with expectation, this wasn’t enough to energise markets which have remained relatively muted over the past 24 hours. With the Greenback remaining relatively well supported the 17-Nation Euro has struggled to hold onto levels above 1.33 against its US Counterpart falling to an overnight low of 1.3251 to open marginally weaker this morning at a rate of 1.3297. In comments made overnight Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti continued to pledge that the worst of the European Crisis is over with Italian and Spanish bond yield falling to their lowest level in 2 months.

Data releases

AUD:
No Data Today

NZD: Building Consents m/m

JPY:
Manufacturing PMI, Household Spending y/y, National Core CPI y/y, Unemployment Rate, Prelim Industrial Production m/m

GBP: GfK Consumer Confidence

EUR:
German Retail Sales m/m, French consumer spending m/m, CPI Flash estimate y/y, Italian Prelim CPI m/m

USD:
Personal Spending m/m, Personal Income m/m, Chicago PMI, Revised Consumer Sentiment, Revised Inflation expecatations