This week would ordinarily be dominated by speculation and anticipation of Central Bank actions and commentary, with Central Bank interest rate decisions taking place across the world. This will play a secondary role to the Middle Eastern war. The crises in energy will feed through into inflation, which is the primary concern of most Central Banks and will probably prevent any chance of rate cuts. The war rages on, but equities gained a small amount of stability, as oil prices backed of the key US$100pb. The US Dollar eased slightly, with the EUR holding above 1.1400, while the GBP looks to regain 1.3300.The softer reserve allowed commodity currencies some respite, with the AUD rebounding to 0.7050, while the NZD looks to regain 0.5850. The RBA may well raise rates today, as currency markets have been predicting in recent times, as inflation has re-emerged. All eyes remain on the Middle East and oil prices.
