Forex Flash: Australia domestic building seeds of growth could be germinating - NAB

With Aussie currently at 1.0226 USD bouncing from session lows at 1.0205, and Q4 Construction work done in Australia coming at -0.1% lower than +1.5% expected and +1.9% previous, Senior Economist Markets at NAB David de Garis notes that “Details hint that domestic building seeds of growth could be germinating,” David said, adding: “domestic building activity rose, offsetting a pull-back this quarter in engineering construction.”

“Construction therefore not adding to Q4 GDP growth overall,” he reckons, though.

Feb 27, 2013

Commodity Brief: Gold higher on Bernanke testimony

With market attention at the moment on Cyclone Rusty nearing Western Australia's iron ore hub, Bloomberg reports, Gold sits quiet around the $1612 in the spot market, off daily highs at $1620, following the rally from NY session lows at $1584 on Bernanke's testimony, which later on today at 15:00 GMT will hold its second part. As James Rickards noted on his Twitter account, Managing Director at Tangent Capital: “Watching the Gold ticker during Bernanke testimony was like watching the polygraph needle go off the charts on a dishonest witness,” he said, when FED's chairman eased financial market worries on a possible retreat from bond purchases sooner than expected, Reuters reported.

Forex: EUR/USD flat around 1.3060 ahead of Italy bonds auction

While Australia's PM Gillard is currently speaking at Brisbane, and ahead of another busy day for EUR/USD with key Italian sovereign bonds auction and second day of FED's Bernanke testifying on the Semiannual Monetary Policy Report before the House Financial Services Committee at 15:00 GMT, in Washington DC, the pair hits fresh session highs at 1.3074, off session lows at 1.3041, flat so far for the Asia-Pacific.