The Australian, New Zealand and Canadian dollars retraced their recent gains on the heels of broad dollar strength.
The biggest decliner was the Australian dollar, which had raced to a 25 year high as recently as yesterday. Squashing any speculation for a rate hike were comments from Reserve Bank of Australia Governor Stevens who said that the current level of interest rates will help drive consumer prices lower even though it will probably bring down growth as well. The Westpac Leading indicators index was flat in May, confirming the gradual slowdown in the Australian economy. There was no economic data from New Zealand but Canada reported a sharp rise in manufacturing shipments, which coincides with the recent jump in the IVEY PMI index.