Australian Dollar: The Australian Dollar moved lower overnight on a renewed bout of risk aversion and opens today at parity with the greenback. The volatility overnight was in contrast to yesterday when local unemployment data passed by with barely a ripple as far as the currency was concerned, trading in a 30-point range between 1.0085 and 1.0115 during the Asian session.

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The Australian Bureau of Statistics reported a net loss of 10,100 positions for the month of February; however the jobless rate remained at 5 per cent for a third consecutive month. Investors have been scaling back their expectations as to the timing of the next move in interest rates and, despite a rise in full-time positions, yesterday's data suggests further "wait and see" on the part of the Reserve Bank.

We expect a range today of 0.9950 - 1.0035

New Zealand Dollar: After a brief move beneath US73.40 cents yesterday on the back of the 50-basis point interest rate cut, the New Zealand Dollar settled down and spent most of the day trading around the US73.60 area. The Reserve Bank of New Zealand cut the official cash rate to 2.5 per cent in what Governor Alan Bollard described as an "insurance measure" to stave off a severe downturn in the wake of the Christchurch earthquake. In light of the pre-emptive move, some economists are now factoring in the likelihood of the Reserve Bank leaving rates on hold until next year. The kiwi opens at lower today at 0.7340 against the greenback and 0.7320 against the Australian Dollar.

We expect a range today of 0.7320 - 0.7375

Great British Pound: Pound Sterling opens weaker today against the greenback at 1.6052 after the Bank of England left rates on hold at 0.5 per cent. Whilst the decision was widely anticipated, sterling hit a two-week low of 1.6038 during overnight trade. The UK central bank also maintained its bond-purchase program at 200 billion pounds. Also weighing on the pound was a bout of risk aversion after equities in the UK fell by 1.5 per cent on Thursday. Meanwhile, the pound opens little-changed against the Australian Dollar (1.6040) and weaker against the New Zealand Dollar (2.1850).

We expect a range today of 1.6000 - 1.6080

Majors: The Euro opens lower against the greenback today at 1.3794 after Moody's Investor Services downgraded Spanish debt to Aa2 and the Bank of Spain named banks that require more capital. Despite the prospect for higher euro zone interest rates in the coming months, sovereign-debt jitters have returned to the market, pushing the shared currency down to 1.3783 during overnight trade. European Union leaders are due to meet today and have set a March 25 deadline to approve measures aimed at solving the debt crisis. Meanwhile, the greenback opens higher today against a range of currencies as equity markets fell sharply across the globe overnight and investors eschewed risk.

Data releases

AUD: No data today

NZD: No data today

JPY: No data today

GBP: Producer Price Index, Feb

EUR: German CPI, Feb

USD: Retail Sales, Feb; Uni of Michigan confidence, March

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