Good Morning,
Market Headlines
Equities opened positively with markets celebrating the US stimulus package and the finalising of Brexit negotiations. The UK reported a second consecutive day or record coronavirus contagions, with over 53K new cases reported in the last 24 hours, despite strict lockdown measures. The number of cases in the US is also on the rise, and the health system is stressed, however, vaccination has started in multiple countries, which somehow offsets the negative headlines. Commodities, Crude +0.7%, Copper -0.5%, Iron ore -3.5% Gold $1877/oz
Currency
AUD/USD: 0.7593 – 0.7624
EUR/USD: 1.2237 – 1.2275
GBP/USD: 1.3469 – 1.3523
USD/JPY: 103.47 – 103.75
USD/CAD: 1.2780 – 1.2824
NZD/USD: 0.7120 – 0.7164
AUD/JPY: 78.67 – 78.94
AUD/NZD: 1.0637 –1.0664
AUD Thoughts
The AUD/USD stayed relatively quiet around 0.7600 during the European trading hours but started to edge higher in the US session with the greenback staying under bearish pressure. The AUD traded at its highest level in 10 days at 0.7624, gaining 0.63% on a daily basis.
USD sell off remains intact amid a lack of significant fundamental drivers and macroeconomic data releases, markets don't seem to be finding a reason to stop selling the USD. The US Dollar Index, which tracks the greenback's performance against a basket of six major currencies, is closing on the multi-year low it set at 89.73 on December 17 and was last seen losing 0.42% at 89.96.
Looking forward, the AUD stepping higher steadily over the offshore session in thin liquidity markets as the USD lost some momentum into year-end. Expecting offers from 0.7640/60 and bids from the 0.7560 recent lows
Event Risk Data Today
UK – December house prices
ES – December CPI
US – November wholesale inventories
US – December Chicago PMI
US – November pending home sales