Currency Update: The AUD has maintained its firm tone from Friday after the RBA upgraded its GDP forecasts and inflation outlook for the local economy

Currency Update: The AUD has maintained its firm tone from Friday after the RBA upgraded its GDP forecasts and inflation outlook for the local economy. The Statement again confirmed the removal of their easing bias on interest rates and confirmed interest rates would remain low for the foreseeable future. Growth has been revised upward to 2.25% to 3.25% for the end of 2014. Much of this is due to the effects of a lower exchange rate which will feed more local growth. The debate over the US debt ceiling is likely to heat up in the near future as the suspension of the debt ceiling ended last Friday and it is expected that around February 27 the US government will run out of money unless the ceiling is raised. In China the HSBC/Mark Services PMI figures for last month were slightly lower at 50.7 compared to 50.9 a month earlier