Currency Update: John Edwards, external board member of RBA, commented that depreciation in the AUD has been pretty marked, and it's not necessarily over, and...

Currency Update: John Edwards, external board member of RBA, commented that depreciation in the AUD has been pretty marked, and it's not necessarily over, and there is a risk the currency is going to fall further Last night the AUD rose back above USD 0.8900. In Australia today, retail sales and trade data for December will be released at 11:30 AEST. Retail sales are expected to have increased further, while for international trade, expectations are the trade deficit will have widened sharply. In the US, equities fluctuated following mixed data. European equities rebounded to finish flat. It was a relatively quiet night for most currency markets. The GBP gained ground after initial losses, the EUR is slightly stronger against the greenback, and the yen slightly weaker. ECB policy meeting is the key event for markets tonight, expectations are that the ECB will leave policy unchanged.