Bell FX Currency Outlook:
The AUD has fallen over a cent during the offshore session, as Moody's rating agency said that the EU summit last week was inconclusive and that the Eurozone was still on negative watch.

Australia: Equities, commodities, and as a result, the AUD were all weaker overnight as the initial positive reaction to last week's summit subsided with the markets realising that there was still no real solution agreed upon. The AUD is currently trading around USD1.0060, with further downside movement a real possibility.

This is down from a high of USD1.0217 late during our trading session yesterday. The AUD followed the moves of the EUR/USD which fell to a 2 ½ month low on the realisation that there are still serious risks to the European region.

As mentioned above, equity markets across the globe were down overnight; the DOW was down 1.7%, the S&P 500 down 1.9% with the Nasdaq down 1.8%. Commodities also felt the pain. Gold was down 2.7% to USD$1,665.65/ounce as the USD became the safe haven trade.

Today sees the release of the closely watched local NAB business survey for November, which releases business conditions and business confidence for the month. It is expected that there will be slight improvement to the numbers due to the two recent rate cuts, as well as the lower AUD.

Expect the AUD to remain in a fairly tight trading range until the release later this morning. Although, with the likelihood of weaker equity markets, the AUD could fall towards the current support level which sits at parity.

Majors: It seems that all the positivity from last week's EU summit has dissipated. And despite some positive signs of commitment to fixing the regions problems, there seems to be once again, a lack of a 'comprehensive solution' to fix the ailing region. Moody's and Fitch warned of further possible downgrades in the region, suggesting that even the major AAA counties in Europe will lose that rating in 2012.

The other ratings agency S&P is expected to make comments later this week which we expect will mirror Moody's comments. Tonight much of the attention will move over to the US, as the FOMC meet to hand down their interest rate decision, as well as the

Retail Sales for November. Investors as optimistic that the retail sales figures will follow other announcements out of the US in recent times, and post better than expected results.

Economic Calendar: 13 DEC

AU Dwelling Starts 3Q
AU NAB Business Confidence
US Retail Sales
US FOMC Rate Decision