Australian dollar remained off recent highs

The Australian dollar remained off recent highs against sterling over the weekend, as recent optimism from the G20 meeting was checked by more weak employment numbers from the US. This reinforced the fragile nature of the global economy and suggested that even if it is starting to recover, further bouts of poor data and volatility are still likely. However, the pound did gain some support from better than expected housing data and figures showing that the rate of contraction in the British service sector was at its slowest in 6 months. Investors will now start to focus on the interest rate decision due from the Reserve Bank of Australia tomorrow.