By:DailyForex.com
The Australian and Canadian dollars reached unexpected highs early on Tuesday following a rally in commodity prices. The Aussie came in just under 75 U.S cents, its highest since July while its Canadian peer climbed as far as C$1.3262 per USD, passing a point not seen since last November. The Aussie was hit $0.7465, while the loonie stood at C$1.3292.
The surges came after Brent crude jumped more than 5 percent to above $40 a barrel for the first time this year on increased optimism of a freeze in production in a glutted market. Prospects of Chinese steel mills planning an output boost even for a short period gave iron ore, Australia's single most valuable export, a surge of close to 20 percent to its highest price in more than eight months.
Analysts now await Chinese trade numbers which are due out later in the day. If the numbers disappoint, worries about the country’s slowing growth could wipe out the commodities rally.
Euro, USD, Yen
Meanwhile, the U.S. dollar, euro and yen showed little movement as investors await the outcome of Thursday's policy review by the European Central Bank (ECB) which is expected to ease the economy but not by very much.
According to analysts at BNP Paribas, "We think the central bank will once again struggle to beat high expectations, with the euro not likely to suffer significantly after the announcement."
The euro held steady at $1.1000 and came in just under 125.00 yen while the dollar pulled back to 113.35 yen.