Opened at $1.0715 having seen a strong bounce along with the EUR/USD from NY lows of $1.0661 on a surge in crude oil prices and some panic short covering in the EUR/USD. Failure of the EUR/AUD to break decisively through the A$1.2480/90 level also added a bid tone to the pair. The Asian session this morning has seen another rally to $1.0755 on the back of hawkish comments from RBA’s Stevens who basically accepted AUD strength and would do little to staunch the rise. Strong retail demand in Tokyo of AUD/JPY added further upward pressure on the AUD/USD as crude oil prices also consolidated yesterday’s $3 rise. AUD/JPY jumped from Y85.67 to Y86.33 and remains on a firm footing ahead of the european open. EUR/AUD slipped back from A$1.2478 to A$1.2443. AUD/NZD eased from NZ$1.2832 to NZ$1.2800. Aussie-dollar offers are cited ahead of the $1.0800 which may well hold a barrier and further large offers loom just above. Support is now seen towards $1.0700/10. Focus will be on Monday’s leadership ballot with ex PM Rudd challenging Gillard’s position at 2300GMT on Monday.
EasyForexNews Research Team