Currency Update: The Australian dollar has opened firmly above .9600 this morning after the immediate US problems were kicked down the road until January and...

Currency Update: The Australian dollar has opened firmly above .9600 this morning after the immediate US problems were kicked down the road until January and February, 2014. All equity markets improved in the Europe and the US with the S&P 500 hitting a record high and Google shares topped USD1000 a share making it the third most valuable company in the world on a market capitalisation basis. The weakness of USD continued on Friday night as many analysts started to pick over the details of the government shutdown and the depth of the political divide between many members of the US Congress. If the tapering is delayed into 2014 we would expect the AUD to maintain a very firm tone for the near term but weakening if the taper is implemented earlier than expected. Today's Forecast Range: USD 0.9600 - 0.9690