Australian Dollar: The Aussie was largely directionless on Friday hovering either side of US97 cents and opens higher on Monday at 0.9770. Local equities finished the week down for a sixth-straight session – something that has not happened since June – which did not help the currency’s cause pushing it to a 3-week low of 0.9666.

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Lingering concerns after last week’s worse-than-expected bond auction in Germany strengthened the greenback across the board as traders looked for safe havens. Despite this morning’s move higher, the risk remains to the downside for the Aussie and should it fall through the 0.9650 area, there is not a lot of support until we get to down to 0.9550. Meanwhile, the AUD is higher against the Euro at 0.7355.

We expect a range today of 0.9690 to 0.9800

New Zealand Dollar: The kiwi opens marginally higher against the greenback today at 0.7455 as buyers emerged in local trade this morning after the recent sustained sell-off. Most of last Friday, the kiwi was content to trade around the US74 cent area in relatively light volume. However, lingering concerns after last week’s worse-than-expected bond auction in Germany strengthened the greenback across the board as traders looked for safe havens. The New Zealand Dollar hit a fresh eight-month low of 0.7370 and any rallies such as this morning’s, are likely to sold into. Meanwhile, the kiwi opens marginally higher against the Australian Dollar at 0.7640.

We expect a range today of 0.7380 to 0.7490

Great Britain Pound: The pound has strengthened against the Euro (0.8580) but opens the new week softer against the greenback (1.5460) as traders seek refuge amid concerns Euro-zone leaders are struggling to contain the region’s debt crisis. Sterling hit fresh 3-week lows around 1.5420 during trade on Friday as the greenback strengthened across the board. Sterling is likely to remain under pressure after last-week’s downward revision of growth and inflationary expectations by The Bank of England. Further stimulus in the form of quantitative easing cannot be ruled out. Meanwhile, the pound opens steady against the Australian Dollar (1.5820) and lower against the New Zealand Dollar (2.0689).

We expect a range today of 1.5780 to 1.5850

Majors: The Euro (1.3280) has slid for a fourth consecutive week against the greenback after last week’s lower-than-expected subscription to a German bond auction continues to weigh on the minds of traders. Risk sentiment and bond yields are driving currency movements for the time being and as a result, the greenback is strengthening against a range of currencies. The 17-nation currency hit fresh 7-week lows on Friday night at 1.3211 after Hungary’s rating was downgraded to junk and a poorly received Italian bond auction saw their borrowing costs double. Until a genuine resolution to the region’s debt crisis, traders are likely to continue selling the Euro on any rallies. Meanwhile, the greenback hit fresh two-week highs against the Japanese Yen at 77.78 and opens today at 77.55.

Data releases

AUD: No data today

NZD: Business Confidence, Nov

JPY: No data today

GBP: Hometrack housing survey, Nov

EUR: Consumer confidence survey, Dec

USD: New home sales, Oct