AUD
Retail sales increased by 1.4% for the month of November 2009, beating expectations of 0.4% and previous growth of 0.4%. Sales increased among all states and all sectors listed.

Australian Trade Balance came in at -1.70 billion for November 2009, beating expectations of -1.79 billion. The previous report was also revised to 2.08 billion, better than originally posted. This is the balance between imports and exports of goods and services. A deficit or negative number indicates more goods and services were imported than exported.

Australia is continuing to produce good news or at least moving in the right direction. This, along with higher interest rates, makes the Australian dollar an attractive currency to hold. It is overbought on various indicators however, giving traders a tough decision to buy high or wait for a potential dip.

GBP
England’s Halifax House Price Index (HPI), reported a 1.0% increase in housing prices for December 2009, beating expectations of 0.6%. This marked the 6th consecutive monthly increase and annual change was reported at 1.1%.

The Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee voted to leave rates unchanged at 0.5%. The Committee also voted to continue with its program of asset purchases totaling £200 billion financed by the issuance of central bank reserves.

The GBP weakened prior to the release on expectations, then has been relatively flat since the release.

USD
US unemployment claims came in at 434,000 for the week ending January 2. This beat expectations of 449K, but was slightly worse than the previous revised 433K. This is the number of individuals who have applied for unemployment for the first time during that week.

While unemployment claims have been shrinking, they’re still negative and reflective of the struggling job market. Further unemployment data comes out Friday, which should be more of a market moving event. The holidays provided seasonal jobs and temporary relief, so we’re not likely to see a significant increase in unemployment on this report.

CAD
The Canadian Ivey Puchasing Manager’s Index (PMI) was posted at 48.4 for December 2009, worse than expectations of 52.2 and the previous month of 55.9. Above 50 indicates growth or expansion and below 50 indicates contraction. This was the first time since June 2009 that the index reported contraction.

The CAD weakened on the news, but not too significantly.