Currency Update: The key takeaway from the Minutes to the February board meeting is that the cash rate is likely to remain stable unless either unemployment...

Currency Update: The key takeaway from the Minutes to the February board meeting is that the cash rate is likely to remain stable unless either unemployment rises more sharply than forecast, the Bank's forecast for growth is revised sharply lower or AUD were to rise sharply. The weekly ANZ-Roy Morgan consumer confidence in Australia fell around 3% in week ended February 16th. There were further signs in last night's economic data that severe weather has impacted activity in US. In UK, CPI inflation was weaker than expected in January at -0.6% m/m and 1.9% y/y. In currency markets the USD was mixed. The JPY maintained its losses from the Asian session while NZD fell independently. USD fell against the other majors on the soft economic data. Wage numbers in Australia will be of interest today in Asia ahead of the FOMC minutes and the China Flash PMI later this week.