03.12.13

Good morning, the Reserve Bank of Australia left rates unchanged at 2.5% at their meeting today, while retail sales came in slightly higher than had been expected. The AUD/USD is currently trading at 0.9089 with a high of 0.9130 and a low of 0.9057 so far. The Japanese market is expected to benefit from a JPY5 trillion economic stimulus package ahead of the increase in the national sales tax in April it has been reported. The budget approval on the 12^th of December will give more exact details of how the money will be spent.

The NIKKEI closed at 15749.70 up 94.59 or 0.60%

European figures released today sees Construction PMI figures from Great Britain and the Producer Price index for the Eurozone published this morning. The British Retail Consortium figures released show a 0.6% growth year on year to November. EUR/USD was trading at 1.3557 a high so far, with a low of 1.3524. The European markets look likely to have a quiet day with no major news releases, tomorrow sees a high number of data releases between 8 and 10am GMT.

The FTSE100 closed at 6585.72 down 9.61 points or minus 0.15% while the DAX closed at 9397.08 down just 4.88 points or minus 0.05%

American markets look toward the unemployment data feed later in the week, as again the FED bond buying is dictating the direction of the markets. The stock indices are hitting record highs, and expectations that a reversal of fortunes could occur once the FED announce tapering of their economic stimulus. Canada has an interest rate decision tomorrow afternoon European time, with the rate expected to remain unchanged at 1%. The USD/CAD was trading at 1.0631, the highest level since 2011, with a high of 1.0650 and a low of 1.0630 so far.

The DOW closed at 16008.80 down 77.64 or minus 0.48%

Have a nice day.