Dovish Bank of England Set to Hold Rates

AUD

The Aussie Dollar opens a little lower against the majors after what was a quiet day in terms of economic data releases. Asian equities closed mixed with the ASX +0.1%, Shanghai Comp -0.6%, and the Nikkei -1.6%. Commodities also didn’t fare better with Gold -0.4%, Silver -0.3%, Iron Ore +1.7%, and Copper -1.4%. No news set for release today for the Aussie, however, we do have some data set for tentative release with China’s Trade Balance, M2 Money Supply y/y and New Loans. The next major event for the AUD will be China's Consumer Price Inflation (CPI) and Producer Price Inflation (PPI) prints on Saturday morning.
 

USD

The AUDUSD coupling traded lower to 0.6557 in the late ahead before climbing back to this morning's open at 0.6578, being a little lower than yesterday's open. No major news released yesterday with only the 10-y Bond Auction coming through at 4.48|2.5 from the previous 4.56|2.3. Another quiet day for Wall Street closing mixed with the Dow Jones +0.4%, S&P 500 flat, and the Nasdaq -0.2%. We will have some important data out of the US tonight with their initial Unemployment Claims for May expected to increase from 208K to 212K. The 30-y Bond Auction results will also be releasing overnight.
 

EUR

The AUDEUR opens slightly lower this morning at 0.6120, having dropped to 0.6104 overnight before climbing back after Italian Retail Sales m/m came through flat, being lower than expectations of a 0.2% increase. Eurozone equities closed in the green with the DAX +0.4% and the CAC +0.7%. No news set for release today. It's also a French and German bank holiday ibn observance of Ascension Day. 
 

GBP

The AUDGBP opens slightly down this morning at 0.5262 after what was a quiet night with only the UK’s 30-y Bond Auction being released, coming through higher than previous at 4.55|3.3 from the previous 4.43|2.7. UK equities closed in the green with the FTSE +0.5%. Big day for the UK with their Bank of England (BOE) Official Bank Rate, Monetary Policy Report & Summary, as well as BOE Governor Bailey's speech. The BOE's leadership has leant towards the dovish side - steering closer to the European Central Bank than the Fed. Due to adjustments in energy prices, UK inflation is also expected to fall below 2% year-on-year in the near future. Despite this, the BOE is widely expected to hold rates again at 5.25% tonight. Any shift in the central bank's tone will likely impact currency markets.
 

NZD

The AUDNZD coupling opens lower this morning at 1.0955. No news set for release from our Kiwi neighbors today, however, tomorrow we will see their BusinessNZ Manufacturing Index set for release at 8:30am.