Numbers supportive of an AUD rally

Australian Dollar:

Following on from Wednesday’s stronger than expected economic growth number the Australian dollar has rallied and rallied hard over the past 24 hours bolstered to a large degree by figures which showed January’s trade surplus had widened to the most in 2 ½ years whilst retail sales accelerated by percent 1.2%. Triggering a rapid rise in the value of the Australian dollar the higher yielding asset traded to an overnight peak of 0.9117, comfortably breaking through pivotal resistance levels at both the 90 and 91 US Cents mark. It what really has been a remarkable week for the Aussie, it’s been a long time coming for traders wanting to see February’s range of 0.8800 – 0.9000 broken. Stronger this morning at rate of 0.9092 RBA Governor Glen Stevens is set to testify before the House of Representatives Economic committee today with any strong reference to the Aussie dollar being too high likely to weigh on the local unit.

We expect a range today of 0.9020 – 0.9130

New Zealand Dollar

The New Zealand dollar has surged ahead when valued against its US Counterpart over the past 24 hours also trading to its highest level in more than six years against the Yen. With investors favouring risk sensitive assets the higher yielding unit also benefitted from figures in Australia which hinted towards an economic revival. Having reached an overnight high of 0.8501 already investors have started to speculate that Policy makers will raise domestic interest rates next week when the RBNZ meet to discuss their monetary policy stance. In what also proves to be a critical data print for New Zealand’s dollar tonight, US non-farm employment if strong could see the Greenback’s strength out muscle the Kiwi’s. Stronger this morning the New Zealand dollar currently buys 84.78 US cents,

We expect a range today of 0.8440 – 0.8510

Great British Pound:

Marking the longest stretch in which a policy stance has been left unchanged since the 1940’s the Bank of England did just that overnight maintaining interest rates at a record low of 0.5 percent. Having held rates since 2009, BOE governor Mark Carney has taken every precaution to ensure the economy fully recovers before borrowing costs are raised. Whilst also re-iterating there remains no rush to remove stimulus many would argue the time now is right given the economy has found a sweet spot. Supportive of a stronger Great British Pound the sterling is stronger when valued against the US dollar opening at 1.6740 this morning. In other moves the Sterling is significantly lower against both the Aussie 1.8408 and the Kiwi 1.9740.

We expect a range today of 1.8370 – 1.8440

Majors:

During a busy session across financial markets the 17-nation Euro rose to a two-month high when valued against its US Counterpart after the European Central Bank kept its benchmark rate unchanged at 0.25 percent. In a positive sign for the broader Euro zone ECB President Mario Draghi stated that deflationary fears should reside whilst also re-iterating his commitment to keeping interest rates lower for longer. Opening this morning more than a full cent stronger at 1.3855, the Euro has managed to advance versus all of its 16 major counterparts with the exception of the Australian dollar. In other currency moves the yen dropped to a five-week low versus the greenback after an advisory panel said Japan’s government pension investment fund no longer needed to focus on domestic bonds. Helping the USD/JPY reach an overnight of 103.031 tonight’s session becomes all about the employment picture within the world’s largest economy where it’s expected employers added 150 000 new jobs last month, enough to see the underlying rate unemployment remain steady at 6.6 percent.