In the US, Elizabeth Duke, Federal Reserve Governor is due to speak in Virginia.

Updates: The Aussie dipped under 1.03 as the ANZ Job Advertisements dropped by 0.9%, triggering worries about employment. It managed to climb back up as home loans rose by 1.4%. The better than expected Chinese GDP (8.9% annualized) certainly gave a boost to the Aussie that touched 1.0450 before sliding lower. Australian New Motor Vehicle Sales disappointed with a big drop of 2.9%. This prevented another move upwards. AUD/USD is struggling around 1.04. Australian employment data disappointed with a drop of nearly 30K jobs, although it’s important to note that full time jobs were actually on the rise. AUD/USD managed to rise above 1.04 once again, also on the European optimism.

In the US, Federal Budget Balance, measures the difference between government’s income and expenses over the past month, further reduce is expected from -98.5B on November down to -138.0B now.

After a sluggish 2011, the Australian economy is expected to post a respectable growth rate of  4 per cent in 2012. The news from down under is not all good however, as the debt crisis in Europe will wipe out $20 billion from expected revenue over the next four years. The outlook for the Aussie is cautiously positive, as there is renewed hope that European leaders will act forcefully to get the debt crisis under control.

In the US, Ben Bernanke, Federal Reserve Chairman, is due to lecture in Washington DC

Glenn Stevens acknowledged the global slowdown and easing inflation and cut the interest rate to 4.50%. This weighed heavily on the pair, as well as no new hints on QE3 in the US.

In the US, Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) Meeting Minutes, full record of the latest FOMC’s meeting, the visions into the financial and monetarist conditions that prejudiced on where to set the interest rates.

The Australian dollar fell to a one year month low against the greenback on global worries and some hints of a rate cut in the monthly rate decision. On the other hand, retail sales, building approvals and trade balance all provided upside surprises.

In the US, ISM Non-Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI); measurement of the relative level of business conditions based on a monthly survey, slightly reduced from the last month to 51.3 points from 52.7 points.

The Aussie was buoyed by Thursday’s release of higher than expected Australian retail sales.  Positive manufacturing data out of China also helped to drive the AUD, easing concerns of a stalling economic recovery in China.  With the RBA expected to leave interest rates unchanged at the next meeting, the AUD has been increasing against the USD.