"The EUR continues to consolidate along with the rest of the G10 currencies, but is looking heavier against its commodity peers" - Shaun Osborne at TD Securities. The US dollar (Currency:USD) - much like the rest of the currency scene - is failing to find direction today. At 14:00 in London we see the euro dollar exchange rate is 0.28 pct in the red at 1.2278 while the pound dollar exchange rate is 0.06 pct in the red at 1.5517. The Australian dollar to US dollar exchange rate is 0.26 pct up at 1.0237. "The USD is trading in mixed fashion and the major currencies are marking time in tight ranges. Risk sentiment is a little more constructive in Europe after stocks weakened in Asian trade on soft Chinese import data which also weighed on industrial commodities," says Shaun Osborne at TD Securities. After risk assets continued to be pressured in the Asian session, some progress on the Spanish bank bailout from the EU finance ministers meeting has helped shift sentiment through the European trading day. TD Securities note that some better than expected industrial production data from Europe has also helped the tone, lifting equities in particular. The reaction from FX land however, remains rather mixed and essentially consolidative still. "The commitment by EU leaders to ensure at least a portion of the loans to Spanish banks would be available sooner helped bring in Eurozone peripheral yields, with Spanish and Italian spreads over Bunds notably tighter. "Combined with mixed industrial production data – worse than expected French, and better than expected Italian releases – the EUR’s reaction was rather muted to the headlines from the finance minister’s meeting. The EUR continues to consolidate along with the rest of the G10 currencies, but is looking heavier against its commodity peers," says Osborne.

Source