US Dollar Slumps Ahead of American Data Dump

AUD

AUD opens in the green against the major currency pairs. Off the back of a quiet day of global economic data the Aussie soared. Asian equities begun the week upbeat, Nikkei +1.8%, Hang Seng +0.3%, and Shenzhen +1%. The ASX 200 closed +0.9% as materials and energy outperformed, +2.3% and 1.5% respectfully. Commodities continued to rally, with everything but Gas in the green. Yesterday, China had their 1-y and 5-y Loan Prime Rate both were kept the same at 3% and 3.5% respectively. Monetary Policy Meeting Minutes for the Aussie this morning at 11:30am, providing in-depth insights into the economic conditions that influenced their decision on where to set interest rates. A quiet rest of the week leading to the public holiday and weekend for Asia.
 

USD

AUDUSD opens stronger at 0.6557, 40 basis points better than yesterdays open. A quiet session on Wall St. saw the major indices in the green heading into the last hour of trade, with the S&P 500 +0.6%, and the Dow and Nasdaq +0.5%. The yield on the US 10-year note was 2bps higher to 4.17%, whilst WTI Crude was 2.7% higher to US$58.00/ barrel as US + Venezuelan tensions heightened. Yesterday and today quiet for the US, however, on Christmas eve, ADP Weekly Employment Change, Prelim GDP q/q, Core Durable and Durable Goods Orders m/m previously at 16.3k, expected at -0.3%, +3.3%, 0.3%, -1.5% and 2.7% respectively.
 

EUR

AUDEUR opens stronger on the at 0.5660, up slightly from yesterdays open. European equities closed mixed with the DAX flat and the CAC down 0.4%.  German Import Prices m/m, minimal currency impacting data out today. Eurozone public holidays from tomorrow and a quiet end to the year expected.
 

GBP

AUDGBP opens stronger minimally to follow suit at 0.4943. The FTSE closed in the red -0.3%. similarly to the EUR and NZD the GBP has minimal released or events set before the New Year and Public Holidays to follow from tomorrow evening.
 

NZD

AUDNZD sees minimal pull-back since yesterday, opening this morning at a rate of 1.1489. There is no further data out this week or this year.