The Australian dollar continued on from yesterday and was stuck in a 50 pips band through the European and US session when traded against the Greenback. It currently sits mid-band at 93.87 US cents and has been a bit softer through the US session. The data that we did see overnight was mixed with consumer confidence in the States on target but the Richmond Manufacturing Index staying unexpectedly flat this month. The result of a lack of convincing top tier data and tapering comments floating in the market was another mixed bag trading for the US dollar. The Euro was weaker and is down almost 50 pips from the end of the Asian session to 1.3470 USD whilst the US dollar struggled against the Yen sitting at 98.74 Yen after gaining some traction through the US session.
The Gold price has continued its heady fluctuations riding the changes in US dollar sentiment more than the other crosses. After trading at 1329 USD an ounce through the Aussie session yesterday, it was crunched down to 1305 USD before rebounding back up to 1323 USD an ounce. The swings were quite pronounced with no major economic data or geo-political influences weighing on the precious metal.
The Australian dollar has taken off against the New Zealand dollar this morning after a wider than expected trade balance deficit in New Zealand. The Aussie has nearly put on 50 pips since the close on New York, although the 9.7% rise in imports is made up of one-off capital purchases. The Aussie is trading at 1.1378 NZD, whilst the NZD is down to 82.46 US cents a 1.5 cent fall this week so far.
Joel Murphy
www.pepperstone.com Joel Murphy is a currency analyst and market commentator for Forex Broker Pepperstone and he regularly features on Sky Business News Australia. He has worked in both retail and institutional Forex for last 8 years and completed a Bachelor of Commerce and a Bachelor of Arts from Monash University
