Australian Dollar:

The Australian Dollar opens this morning at a rate of 1.0504 against the Greenback. Following a large flight to safety yesterday evening riskier currencies such as the Aussie Dollar were sold across the board.

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With European Sovereign debt concerns resurfacing and the Standard & Poor's negative U.S Credit-Rating Outlook dampening investor confidence, demand for the Aussie again dropped with risk aversion dominating headlines. Today we see the release of the RBA Monetary Policy Minutes from their previous meeting with a more dovish tone expected to further test the Aussie on the downside.

We expect a range today of 1.0420- 1.0540

New Zealand Dollar:
In New Zealand yesterday we saw the release of the Consumer Price Index which rose to 0.8% in the three months ending March 31, for an annual rate of 4.5%. With such results coming in below the 1% expected the New Zealand dollar was sold and after opening at rate of 0.7993 it fell to an eventual low of 0.7839 shedding more than a full US cent .

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While such results are likely to see the RBNZ keep the official cash rate on hold for the coming months, a general flight to safety last night also did little help to the cause of the kiwi as we open this morning at a rate of 0.7890.

We expect a range today of 0.7810-7920

Great British Pound:

Greenback strength across the board has sent the pound lower today opening at 1.6263. Earlier in the session, the pound traded as high as 1.6328 after UK property website Rightmove PLC released home sales data showing that national prices rose 1.7 per cent in April even as supply also rose in some areas. However, the pound followed the Euro lower to an overnight nadir of 1.6165 as European debt worries resurfaced and safe-haven buyers came back out of the woodwork. Meanwhile, the pound the pound has outperformed both the Australian Dollar (1.5470) and the New Zealand Dollar (2.0565) which both open slightly higher today.

We expect a range today of 1.6210-1.6320

Majors:

The Euro (1.4236) opens lower against the greenback and fell steadily over the last 24 hours from a high of 1.4419 on speculation Greece may default on its debt obligations within five years. The resurfacing debt crisis outweighed news across the Atlantic that Standard & Poor's lowered its long-term credit-rating outlook for the United States from stable to negative.

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The ratings agency expressed concerns that policy-makers in the US may not reach agreement on how to reduce the nation's deficit by 2013. Stocks in the United States fell whilst gold rallied and the big dollar advanced against several major currencies as investors eschewed risk. Meanwhile, the greenback opens at 82.62 against the Japanese Yen.

Data releases

AUD: Monetary Policy Meeting Minutes

NZD: No Data Today

JPY: Household Confidence

GBP: No Data Today

EUR: Eurozone Current Account (Feb)

USD: No Data Today

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