The Australian, New Zealand and Canadian dollars have been hit by lower commodity prices and a stronger dollar.
Oil prices have dropped $9 over the past 2 trading sessions and hopefully this is a top. The only thing that can prevent the global economy from slowing even further would be a reversal in oil prices. If crude fell back to $100 or even $120 a barrel, central banks around the world could forget about raising interest rates and focus on boosting growth. This would help to bring some relief to companies and consumers who have been forced to cut expenses. Australian business confidence dropped to a 7 year low last month, which is the weakest since September 11th. New Zealand business confidence on the other hand held at a 33 year low. We get to learn how consumers in Australia feel tonight with the release of the Westpac consumer confidence report. Meanwhile Canada will be releasing housing starts. We expect falling oil prices to weigh on the Canadian dollar.
