In early Asian trading on Monday, the Australian dollar fell to new multi-day lows lows against the currencies of Japan, US and Canada. The Aussie also weakened against the euro.
In economic news, gross operating profits for Australian companies in the third quarter of 2998 increased 5.2 percent over the previous quarter.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics also reported today that stockpiles held by Australia's private businesses increased in the three months to September by a seasonally adjusted 0.7 percent. The Bureau said pre-income tax profits rose 3.1 percent on quarter.
The Australian dollar has been weakening on expectation of a rate cut when the Reserve Bank of Australian meets tomorrow. The RBA is widely expected to slash the interest rates by 75 basis points to 4.5%.
The Australian dollar edged down to a 5-day low against its Japanese counterpart during Monday's early Asian trading. At about 8:20 pm ET, the Aussie touched 61.35 against the yen, compared to 62.54 hit late Friday in New York. On the downside, the Aussie may likely find support near the 59.2 level.
The Bank of Japan is planning an unscheduled emergency policy meeting early this week, according to various media reports, for the purpose of introducing a new system to lend money to financial institutions so they can continue to provide loans for companies.
The plan would allow banks to use corporate bonds with lower credit ratings as collateral, the reports said, during the period of December through the end of the fiscal year in March. The bank also expects to receive debentures that low-ranking companies issue in return.
Against the currency of US, the Australian dollar dropped to 0.6443 during Monday's early trading. This set a 5-day low for the Aussie. The pair closed last week's deals at 0.6549.
From US, the manufacturing report from ISM is slated for release at 10:00 am ET. The consensus is for the ISM to drop to 37.5 following October's level of 38.9.
Markets will also be interested to hear what Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke and Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson have to say when they speak at separate events in the afternoon.
The Australian dollar also declined against the European single currency and the Canadian dollar during Monday's early trading. The Aussie that worth 1.9402 against the euro and 0.8105 against the loonie at Friday's close, hit lows of 1.9613 and 0.8020, respectively at about 9:05 pm ET.
The German retail sales, SVME November PMI, British M4 money supply report, manufacturing PMI reports from Italy, Germany, Britain and Euro-Zone are the major economic reports scheduled for the upcoming session.
Canadian GDP data for the third quarter has been scheduled at 8:30 am ET today. Economists are expecting GDP to show growth of 0.8% following 0.3% growth in the second quarter.
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