Today was another day in Asia where the Aussie Dollar took center stage. The markets were quick to react to an Australian newspaper article that posted a Q & A with RBA Governor Glenn Stevens who was as hawkish as ever in his commentary. To summarize, Stevens stated that Australia's solid economy could drive the Aussie Dollar ''way up'' to $1.10, and as well hinted that the RBA will not be ''too timid'' when looking to increase the key interest rate. AUD/USD shot from 0.9205 to over 0.9245 on the news, and subsequently reached 0.9270 for a 14 month high. NZD/USD followed its neighbors lead and touched a 15 month high just shy of 0.7495 as the positive news for the Aussie translated well for all risk currencies at the peril of the dollar and yen.
Today's optimistic moves put the EUR/USD at fresh 14 month highs of 1.4966 while EUR/JPY pushed over 136.00 by a pip to register a 3 month high. The British Pound was boosted by Bank of England comments stating that they were confident that their quantitative monetary easing policy was working in a satisfactory manner. The GBP/USD fell just short of 1.6400 for a session high, and the GBP/JPY tapped a high near 148.75 for the day, capping an almost 170 pip move higher. USD/JPY drifted higher by almost 50 pips to fall just short of the 91.00 levels. The yen and dollar lost ground on all fronts today as traders seemed keener on the stabilization of the US economy due to positive signs in the job market and a solid Q3 earnings season. The DOW staying over 10,000 adds fuel to the fire, and if Wall Street can finish the week strong, Monday could bring more perils for the greenback. Have a nice weekend.
