Australian Dollar: The Aussie rallied quite sharply on Thursday hitting an intraday high of 0.9880 on the back of stronger-than-expected jobs data. The Australian economy added a total of 54,600 positions in November – the most since January – for an unemployment rate of 5.2 per cent, down from the previous month’s level of 5.4 per cent. The unit climbed from 0.9780 as investors speculate that interest rates may need to rise in the first quarter of 2011. This was a different tune to Tuesday when RBA governor Glenn Stevens suggested that rates “in the economy are now a little above average”. During the offshore session, the Aussie succumbed to another bout of greenback strength and worked its way lower to this morning’s opening level of 0.9820.

We expect a range today of 0.9760 – 0.9845

New Zealand Dollar: The New Zealand Dollar has managed to re-capture some of the losses made after the Reserve Bank of New Zealand’s (RBNZ) announcement yesterday where the official cash rate (OCR) was left on hold at 3 per cent. The unit initially lost more than half a US-cent falling to 0.7437 as the RBNZ governor said in the accompanying statement that it was “prudent to keep the OCR low until the recovery becomes more robust”. The kiwi made a comeback late in the domestic session as it followed the Australian Dollar higher after a very strong November jobs report across the Tasman. The unit traded as high as 0.7515 in overnight trade and opens this morning at 0.7470.

We expect a range today of 0.7430 – 0.7500

Great British Pound: Pound Sterling (1.5748) hit a two-week high of 1.5840 overnight after the Bank of England kept its benchmark interest rate unchanged last night at a record low of 0.5 per cent. The UK central bank also kept its bond-buying program unchanged in light of recent positive economic data. The UK’s trade deficit widened in October as imports surged fuelling speculation amongst investors that the UK recovery is gathering steam. Meanwhile, the pound opens lower against both the Australian Dollar (1.6010) and the New Zealand Dollar (2.1080).

We expect a range today of 1.5950 – 1.6050

Majors: Market jitters regarding Europe’s debt crisis (in particular, Ireland), and recent positive US economic data have combined to weaken the Euro (1.3228) and strengthen the greenback against several of the US’ major trading partners. Fitch Ratings cut Ireland’s credit rating from A+ to BBB+ as costs mount to rescue their banking system. The Irish government are set to vote on an 85 billion Euro aid package. Adding to the turmoil are further calls by France in backing Germany’s stance in refusing to increase the European Union’s rescue fund and rejecting the idea of joint Euro-area bonds. Meanwhile, in the United States, jobless claims fell to 421,000 for the week ending December 3, down from 438,000 the previous week. The greenback opens today at 83.68 against the Japanese Yen.

Data releases

AUD: No data today

NZD: Terms of trade, Q3

JPY: Consumer confidence, Nov

GBP: PPI, Nov

EUR: Italian GDP, Q3

USD: Trade Balance, Oct; Uni of Michigan confidence, Dec