Mixed Fortune for Commodity Currencies as Prices of Commodities Fall

The commodity currencies put on a mixed performance on Monday, after the prices of most important commodities fell. The Aussie, the Loonie and the South African rand were early morning winners against both the U.S. dollar and the euro. The Kiwi, however, suffered heavy losses against both of the world's leading currencies. At around 6 am GMT, the U.S. dollar lost 0.11% of its value against the Australian dollar to stand around 0.9480. The greenback suffered similar losses against the rand, falling 0.04% to 6.8034. The dollar made the biggest loss against the Canadian dollar, however, falling 0.34% to 0.9765. The euro opened the day with a 0.13% loss against the Aussie, trading at 1.3598. At the same time, the euro stands at 9.7542 against the rand (down 0.12%) and at 1.4015 against the Canadian dollar (down 0.31%). The big loser in today's trading so far is the Kiwi. The dollar rose 1.1% against the New Zealand currency to 1.2307, while the euro added 0.98% to its value against the Kiwi and is standing around 1.7636. Earlier today, none of these economies published any important updates about the health of their economies. As a result, traders turned their attention to other factors, one of which is commodity prices. Even though these are commodity exporting countries, whose currency depends a lot on the movement in the prices of commodities, the Aussie, the Loonie and the South African rand defied the odds and added to their value in spite of the falling prices of commodities. Gold lost 0.08% of its value and stands around $1,530.95, while silver lost even more, falling 1.15% to $35.78. Crude oil cemented a bad day for commodities after falling 0.12% to $98.77. The price of commodities was probably affected by never ending debt problems in Greece, which continues to threaten the financial stability of Europe. With the recent economic performance of the U.S. economy being far from astonishing, some traders seem worried about the growth prospects in the developed countries. Traders were not encouraged by the latest data coming from the world's second largest economy as well, as

lending falls on the government attempts to cool off the Chinese economy. Traders are now turning their attention to China, as the Asian giant is expected to publish a number of new economic data on the health of its economy during tomorrow's Asian trading. The data about to be published includes retail sales, inflation and industrial production. The strength of the Chinese economy should have a big effect on the prices of commodities and the value of currencies of major commodity exporters, since China is the world's largest consumer of raw materials. Traders who believe the strong Chinese economy will continue to push the prices of commodities higher will be interested in the PowerShares DB Commodity Index Tracking Fund

. Higher commodity prices should propel the economies of commodity exporters, providing headwind for currencies like the Aussie, the Loonie or the Kiwi. As a results, traders who believe in this scenario will be interested in the CurrencyShares Australian Dollar Trust ETF

, the CurrencyShares Canadian Dollar Trust ETF

and the WisdomTree Dreyfus South African Rand Fund

. Other traders will be concerned by the attempts of the Chinese authorities to cool off China's rampant economy. With demand in the developed countries still sluggish, the slowdown in the world's second largest economy could push the prices of commodities lower. Traders who find appeal in this scenario will be interested in the PowerShares DB Commodity Double Short ETN

and the ProShares UltraShort DJ-AIG Commodity ETF

.