[B]OPENING COMMENT[/B]
Asian trade has been very quiet with most currencies holding at or near daily opening levels. Two currencies which do however stand out are [B]Aussie[/B] and [B]Sterling[/B], both for different reasons. Aussie has outperformed on the session against all currencies, aided by the [B]better than expected Westpac leading index [/B]numbers which point to a faster recovery than anticipated. Sterling on the other hand continues to be weighed down on the back of yesterday’s[B] talk from the Bank of England that they would be looking to reduce the discount rate[/B]. Elsewhere, [B]Pimco’s Bill Gross [/B]has reportedly raised holdings of government related debt in his Total Returns Fund. It will be interesting to see how the markets hold up into Wednesday after the[B] DJIA [/B]managed to post yet another fresh 2009 high on Tuesday, following the stronger batch of US data and comments from [B]Fed Chair Bernanke [/B]who said for the first time, the [B]recession is “likely over.” [/B]Looking ahead, [B]Swiss retail sales[/B] (0.7% expected) are due at 7:15GMT, followed by the more important [B]UK employment data [/B](5% expected). [B]Swiss ZEW [/B]and [B]Eurozone CPI [/B](0.3% expected) caps things off at 9:00GMT. [B]Global equities [/B]are tracking higher, while [B]commodities[/B] are mixed.
[B]Written by Joel Kruger, Technical Currency Strategist for DailyFX.com
If you wish to receive Joel’s reports in a more timely fashion, e-mail [/B][B][email protected][/B] [B]and you will be added to the [/B][B]“distribution” [/B][B]list.[/B][B][/B]
Visit the DailyFX Forex Stream for Real-Time News and Market Updates