AUD Gains On Iron Ore Rally, Yuan Draws Support From Upbeat GDP Outlook

Iron ore caught a bid and futures on SGX printed all-time highs, bolstering AUD at the start to the week. The Aussie drew additional support from broadly positive sentiment, reflected in upticks across most regional equity benchmarks.

• NZD gained in tandem with its Antipodean cousin, with liquidity thinned out as New Zealand's markets were shut for the Anzac Day.
• USD headed in the opposite direction, as the DXY faltered to its worst levels since early March. The FOMC are in their blackout period ahead of Wednesday's monetary policy decision.
• The BoJ also hold their policy meeting this week, but USD/JPY was happy to hold Friday's range. BoJ decision announcement is scheduled for tomorrow.
• The PBoC fixed its central USD/CNY mid-point at CNY6.4913, 20 pips above sell-side estimates, but USD/CNH slipped nonetheless. The redback gained as a Chinese gov't think tank said it expects the economy to grow 8% Y/Y this year.
• German Ifo Survey, flash U.S. durable goods orders as well as comments from ECB's Lane & Panetta take focus from here.