The aussie is battered after a poor Q4 GDP report earlier in the day
The report precipitated a flood of calls for the RBA to cut rates this year, and that is leading to the softer sentiment seen in the currency ahead of European trading. The aussie continues to trade at the lows currently, with AUD/USD slowly inching towards the 0.7000 handle. The drag in the aussie is also causing a slump in the kiwi as it gets caught in the crossfire.
Meanwhile, the pound is holding weaker as Brexit developments are progressing slowly with little substance to show for ahead of the meaningful vote (still expected next week). The latest meeting between Cox and Barnier failed to yield anything of note and that is contributing to the weakness in the currency so far today.
The dollar and yen are the two currencies which are holding firm so far, with equities sentiment displaying a more cautious tone more than anything else over the past two days.
With little on the economic calendar during the European morning, expect markets to focus on the current themes above ahead of North American trading where we will get some US data and the Bank of Canada rate decision/statement.
