Opened at $1.0234 and headed higher from the start of trading this morning as Asian bourses picked up and strong PMI data out of China, India and Australia all added to boost the AUD up through $1.0270 stops to a high of $1.0297. Real money, sovereign and macro names were all behind the drive higher, and firming metal prices also added fuel to the move. EUR/AUD continued its descent to fresh lows of A$1.2594, tripping some sell stops through A$1.2600 from early highs of A$1.2646. AUD/JPY pulled up strongly from Y78.68 to Y79.14 despite further leakage in the dollar-yen from Y76.96 to Y76.82. AUD/NZD was relatively stable through a NZ$1.3114-61 range. There is talk of some option related buy stops up through $1.0340, but the order books are largely empty at the moment. The close into the year end above the 100 day MA currently around $1.0193 is now acting as major support which if holds, could entice a further bounce into the $1.0380/85 area.
EasyForexNews Research Team