Aussie Dollar Stagnant Post Fed Meeting Minutes

AUD

The Aussie Dollar opens mixed against the major currencies after a quiet week for economic data out of Australia and Asia has left the currency directionless. Asian equities were mixed in trade yesterday with the Shenzhen +.3%, Nikkei -.9% and the Hang Seng -.6%. Locally the ASX 200 shed .1% as healthcare and real estate sectors underperformed at +1.1% and +.8% respectively. Later this morning the MI Inflation Expectations survey is set for release, previously releasing at +4.9%. All eyes now turn to next Thursday with the release of our key employment data.

USD

AUDUSD opens lower at a rate of 0.6964 as higher US Treasury yields reinforce the relative appeal of the Greenback. U.S. equity markets were weaker heading into the last hour of trade with the S&P 500 -0.3%, Nasdaq -0.3% and the Dow -0.7%. The yield on the US 10-year note hovered near multi-decade highs at 5.29%, whilst Brent Crude was +0.4% to US$101.00/barrel. The FOMC Meeting Minutes for the previous interest rate decision released earlier this morning, noting that all members supported a rate hike at the September meeting while some members believe that current rates are not yet restrictive enough. Tonight, FOMC Member Waller is due to speak at the Central Bank of Turkey and American Unemployment Claims are set for release.

EUR

AUDEUR opens the day higher, with the pair touching a 10-month high overnight to open this morning at a rate of 0.6218 as investors respond to the French political and economic crises by dumping French bonds. European equities were bleeding into the close, with the DAX down -1.4% and the CAC down -1.2%. German Industrial Production m/m released yesterday and came in at +2.0% (exp +0.5%) from a previous -1.2% . Later today we have the Eurogroup Meetings and the ECB Monetary Policy Meeting Accounts report, which could give insight into future policy decisions for the ECB.

GBP

AUDGBP opens flat at 0.5269, with minimal data causing the rate to trade between 0.5260 and 0.5270 over the past 24 hours. UK equities closed in the red with the FTSE down -0.8%. Tonight, Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey is set to speak at the Istanbul Economic Forum hosted by the Central Bank of Turkey.

NZD

AUDNZD opens higher at 1.2433 this morning. No data expected for the rest of the week for New Zealand, with the next major release coming October 20th when the NZ CPI inflation data is due.