Currency Update: The AUD is lower this morning, at USD 0.9600, following media reports of rising Chinese bank bad loan provisions

Currency Update: The AUD is lower this morning, at USD 0.9600, following media reports of rising Chinese bank bad loan provisions. The Peoples' Bank of China refrained from adding funds to the money market, causing money market rates to rise the most since July, and in doing so, the USD was the major beneficiary. The USD recovered against risk currencies. Commodity markets were also hit hard on the China headline with oil and base metals prices declining sharply. Equity markets corrected overnight, with both US and European stocks losing ground, following falls in Asia. The EUR remained very resilient, the JPY strengthened sharply and GBP's losses were only modest, suggesting that core currencies broadly remain in favour relative to the periphery. In Australia today, RBA's Phil Lowe will be speaking on Investment and the Australian economy at 2pm. Today's Forecast Range: USD 0.9575 - 0.9650