Investors will be watching the Australian dollar closely this week following its drop of nearly US2c late last week to just above parity with the greenback.
The Australian currency closed in US trading on Friday at $US1.0017 after briefly dipping below parity to US99.62c, its lowest level since June last year.
Most commentary focused on the strength of the US dollar against the yen, having punched emphatically through the Y=100 level on Thursday, but our dollar also fell against other currencies, helped on its way by the Reserve Bank's unexpected decision on Tuesday to drop the official interest rate to 2.75 per cent, its lowest level since 1959.
Our sharemarket, meanwhile, looks set to stay steady to higher, having hit a post-GFC record on Friday with the S&P/ASX 200 index closing at 5206.09.
The Share Price Index Futures contract closed nine points higher at 5216 after Australian trading closed on Friday, suggesting a modest lift in prices today, particularly since a managed decline in what was seen as our overvalued dollar will offer some positives to local investors, particularly in the prices of mining stocks with major international earnings, such as Rio and BHP.
