Jamelle Agbuis

The Australian Dollar has opened slightly stronger this morning, supported by the stronger oil price and some positive Australian investment data released yesterday.

The Australian Dollar rallied strongly throughout yesterday's domestic session after a surge in local capital expenditure.

U.S. stocks fell for a third straight day Thursday as worries persisted over turmoil in Libya and how the resulting surge in oil prices might affect the U.S. economic recovery.

US initial jobless claims fell by 22,000 to 391,000 in the last week. US new home sales fell 12.6pct to 284,000 in January.

The Australian Dollar has opened unchanged from late yesterday, despite the developments in the Middle East, which is weighing heavily on risk tone and associated risk asset classes.

Stronger-than-anticipated wages growth in Australia helped to push the currency back over parity against the greenback yesterday.

U.S. stocks fell for a second straight session as investors dumped shares of Hewlett-Packard and oil continued higher on concerns over Libya.

US existing home sales rose by 2.7pct to an annual rate of 5.36 million in January - against expectations for a fall.

The Australian Dollar has opened weaker this morning, currently trading around the parity level after trading to a low of 0.9970 in the offshore session.

The Aussie opens lower today at 0.9975 after another session of risk aversion on speculation political unrest in the Middle East and North Africa will intensify.

The Standard & Poor's 500 stock index posted its biggest intraday drop of the year Tuesday as escalating tensions in the Middle East and North Africa sent oil prices soaring.

US consumer confidence rose from 64.8 to 70.4 in February - marking the highest reading in three years and well ahead of analyst expectations.

The Australian sharemarket is pulling back for the first time in three sessions with the All Ordinaries index (XAO) almost wiping out all of last week's gains.

The Australian Dollar has opened firmer this morning trading at 1.0130 following a positive Friday night in equity markets.

The Aussie opens higher today at 1.0120 on the back of strong commodities and its yield advantage over the greenback.

U.S. stocks climbed to fresh multiyear highs Friday, extending their winning streak to a third straight week, as the market's upward momentum helped outweigh another round of tightening in China and continued unrest in the Middle East.

The People´s Bank of China has tightened monetary policy again, lifting bank reserve requirements by 50 basis points to a record 19.5 per cent.

RBA Assistant Governor Philip Lowe's hawkish remarks enabled the Australian Dollar to maintain the previous day's gains. Mr Lowe said global commodity prices were likely to remain elevated and global inflation 'to be quite persistent'.

U.S. stocks meandered into positive territory Thursday as a white hot reading from mid-Atlantic manufacturers outweighed higher than expected jobless claims and a rise in U.S. consumer prices.

US consumer prices rose by a sizeable 0.4pct in January - above consensus. Over the year consumer prices were up 1.6 per cent.

The AUD has opened almost one US centhigher today after a volatile session in offshore markets overnight.

The AUD is back above parity against theUSD this morning after a brief pullback during yesterday's session.

The Australian Dollar dropped to 0.9970 against the US Dollar paring earlier gains in Asia when ratings agency Moody's said it had placed the nation's four largest banks on review for possible downgrade.

Investors pushed the Standard & Poor's 500-stock index to about double off its financial crisis low as a fresh geopolitical worry weighed against an encouraging package of corporate earnings and takeover news.

US producer prices rose by 0.8pct in January - in line with consensus. Over the year producer prices were up 3.6 per cent.

The Australian sharemarket is trading mainly flat in the first half of trade with the All Ordinaries index (XAO) off by 0.1 pct or 3.8 pts to 5015.6.

The Australian Dollar has opened weaker thismorning, currently trading around the USD0.9970, level asbase metals and equities finished lower overnight.Yesterday saw the release of the Australian RBA Minutes,which had a positive outlook on the Australian economy,despite the recent floods damage.

Investors sold the Aussie aggressively after minutes from the Reserve Bank's meeting said 'the evident caution in household spending would, if it persisted, reduce the pressure on prices that might normally be expected in an economy with very strong terms of trade and limited spare capacity' and have 'provided additional time for the board to assess at future meetings.'

The energy sector led U.S. stocks lower Tuesday as crude-oil futures fell, while a host of U.S. economic data left investors feeling uninspired.