OZFOREX commentary overnight:
Australian Dollar:
The Australian dollar opened weaker Thursday as downward pressure on the US92 cent handle continued to be applied. Asian trade began and the Aussie dollar moved almost horizontally however there was an element of a downhill trend amongst the sideways trade. The small range in the morning was due to the Private Capital Expenditure figures being released just before midday which has been billed as the highlight of the week. In several days with very little volatility investors were counting on these numbers to provide a spark to the dormant AUD and they were not disappointed. The Capex data came in at -4.2 per cent where -1.6 per cent had been forecast. The data is important as it gives a good indication as to how Australia is transitioning from a nation reliant on mining to a country with more diversified interests. Although the figures appear to be weaker than expected the market received the numbers as positive as other industries other than mining appear to be picking up the pace. The highlight appeared to be equipment, plant and machinery up 2.8 per cent whilst mining was down as expected 10 per cent. The AUD gained on the back of this data and rallied 37 points to 0.9258 setting the tone for the rest of the session. As the day went on the Aussie dollar continued to rally up over half a per cent since the days open against the Greenback to 0.9276. Overnight the strong AUD continued, assisted by poor US GDP figures managing to break through the US93 cent barrier touching highs of 0.9314. The Aussie opens today stronger against the US at 0.9308. Heading into the weekend Private sector credit is the only data out locally as investors will watch an array of US numbers to finish off the week.
Certainly thinking outside the box - mind you possibly makes as much sense as some theories possessed by so-called experts.
