Commodity backed currencies still under pressure from possibility of US tapering

Elsewhere yesterday, following market speculation surrounding tapering of US monetary stimulus we saw the commodity-backed currencies continue with the weakness shown at the back-end of last week. The Canadian dollar was trading at 3-year lows against its US counterpart, with the US being Canada’s primary export destination. Similarly we saw the Australian dollar weaken as the US speculation coincided with sentiment ahead of the monetary policy minutes released last night and tonight’s testimony from the central bank chief. US speculation was also the driving factor behind Russian rouble weakness, which slid against the majority of its most-traded peers despite it being the first day of the monthly tax period, a day which traditionally bolsters the Russian currency. The Japanese yen bounced back from Friday’s five-year lows as overnight stock market weakness on Sunday fuelled demand for the safe-haven Japanese currency. Out today we have manufacturing sales figures out of Canada and the aforementioned statement from the governor of the Reserve Bank of Australia. Get in touch with your trader for a live rate.