Home > Community > Financial Markets > Aussie tumbles on talk of BoA capital needs

Aussie tumbles on talk of BoA capital needs

Published: 05 May 2009 19:37:02 PST

______________AUSTRALIAN CREDIT/FOREX SNAPSHOT_________________ FOREIGN EXCHANGE AT 0000 GMT (against previous Sydney close) <AUD=> 0.7355/55 (0.7408/13) <AUDNZD=R>1.2749/68(1.2862/77) <AUDJPY=R> 72.25/30 (73.31/37) <JPY=> 98.27/30(98.93/98) <AUDEUR=R> 0.5547/52 (0.5542/48) <EUR=> 1.3259/62(1.3359/64) DEBT FUTURES CASH YIELDS 90-DAY BILL<YBAc1> (JUN) 96.95 (-0.01) <AU3MBB=RR> 3.14(3.08) 3-YR BOND <YTTc1> (JUN) 96.35 (+0.03) <AU3YT=RR> 3.68(3.69) 10-YR BOND <YTCc1> (JUN) 95.235 (+0.045) <AU10YT=RR> 4.95(5.00) 3/10 SPREAD +1.11 (+1.135) AUST/US 10-YR SPREAD +184(+182) S&P/ASX 200 3863.7 (3890.4) US10-YR <US10YT=RR> 3.12(3.18) ----------------------------May 6------------------------------

DATA: Retail sales surged 2.2 percent in March, way above forecasts for a 0.5 percent gain, as consumers spent big in department stores and on clothes.

Trade surplus jumped 43 percent in March, again well above expectations, as exports remained remarkably resilient while imports fell again.

See [ID:SYD504584] ---------------------------------------------------------------

* Aussie hit by Reuters report that Bank of America has been deemed to need an additional $34 billion in capital in the U.S. government's "stress tests" for banks, reversing its rally on the surprisingly strong retail sales data. [ID:nN05514181].

* Aussie <AUD=D4> tumbled to $0.7344 after a high of $0.7410. It was traded at $0.7408 late here on Tuesday. Tumbles to 72.04 yen <AUDJPY=> from Tuesday's 73.31.

* Investors have turned cautious on the eve of the release of the results of U.S. government tests that will show which of the top U.S. banks will need more cash, and how much [ID:nN05589999] [ID:nN05482651].

* The caution has ended a run-up in markets in the past week fuelled by tentative hopes the world economy is on the mend.

* Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke had sought to soothe nerves, saying banks found to be short on capital can raise funds from the private sector [ID:nN05459483]

* Aussie bond futures reversed earlier losses as a spike in risk aversion raised bids for safer assets.

* Three-year bond futures <YTTc1> rose 0.03 points to 96.35, and the 10-year contract <YTCc1> added 0.045 points to 95.235. For Reuters data on current Australian bond pricing, double-click on <YIELDBROKER>.