By: Barbara Zigah Unexpectedly weak data from the U.K.’s manufacturing sector pushes back the likelihood of an interest rate hike sending the Pound Sterling broadly lower in Asian trading. As reported at 2:34 p.m. (JST) in Tokyo, the Pound Sterling traded lower against the safe haven Swiss Franc at 1.4180, a decline of 1.5%. Against the U.S. Dollar, the Pound posted its largest single day drop in more than three months, falling...
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By: Barbara Zigah With commodity prices beginning to stabilize, the Euro has been holding tight to recent gains during Asian trade. Some traders expect the Euro to come under renewed pressure, however, if and when more negative news on the Eurozone’s escalating fiscal troubles arrives. As reported at 2:00 p.m. (JST) in Tokyo, the Euro was slightly lower against the U.S. Dollar, trading at $1.4392, a decline of 0.1% in the...
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By: Barbara Zigah With the euphoria over the news of the al-Qaeda leader’s death now beginning to wane, the U.S. Dollar is hovering close to the 3-year low struck last week. As reported at 2:27 p.m. (JST) in Tokyo, the U.S. Dollar Index was at 73.153 .DXY, up .28%, yet just off the 72.722 .DXY low struck last week in New York. Analysts insist that, given the ultra-loose monetary policy of the U.S. Federal Reserve, it’s only...
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By: Barbara Zigah In early trading in Tokyo, the common currency edged higher against the U.S. Dollar, off a 3-week low, supported by early indications of some restabilization in the commodities markets. Analysts note, however, that Greek fiscal problems will continue to put pressure on the Euro until a path to resolution is clear, and unwinding of long positions in EUR/USD are likely in the short term as more negative news...
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By: Barbara Zigah Ahead of today’s meeting of the European Central Bank’s rate setting committee, the common currency Euro has been rising toward a 17-month peak against the U.S. Dollar in Asian trade. Investors continue to speculate that the divergent policies of the ECB and the Federal Reserve Bank will benefit the Euro, though some analysts believe that recent comments from ECB officials suggest that further tightening...
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By: Barbara Zigah Following yesterday’s press conference held by Ben Bernanke, the chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve Bank, who fielded questions on the likely direction of the U.S. economy, the U.S. Dollar slipped to new multi-year lows against major currencies. As reported at 2:47 p.m. (JST) in Tokyo, the U.S. Dollar Index, a measure of the greenback’s strength against other major currencies, slipped to a 3-year trough...
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By: Barbara Zigah Following last week’s steep fall, the common currency Euro bounced in early Asian trading, rising against the U.S. Dollar and Japanese Yen. As reported at 2:25 p.m. (JST) in Tokyo, the Euro gained 0.3% against the greenback to trade at $1.463; late last week, the Euro lost 3.3% and struck a 3-week trough of $1.4310 following unsubstantiated rumors that Greek was considering a pullout from the Eurozone. Versus...
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By: Barbara Zigah Yesterday’s death of Osama bin Laden is making international headlines, as analysts focus on how it will affect everything from the U.S. army presence in the region to Obama’s popularity in the polls. But when it comes to Forex trading, the only question to ask is how the death of Osama bin Laden will affect the value of the U.S. Dollar. A quick look at how the currency fluctuated when Saddam Hussein was...
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By: Barbara Zigah With investors speculating that the Reserve Bank of Australia is likely to raise interest rates sooner than later given a higher inflation forecast, the Australian Dollar rose against the U.S. Dollar. As reported at 1:25 p.m. (JST) in Tokyo, the Aussie traded at $1.0687 against the greenback, up from $1.0579 in New York trading. It also moved higher against the Japanese Yen, trading at 85.94 Yen, up from...
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By: Barbara Zigah The greenback continues to lose ground against major currencies, with the U.S. dollar Index holding close to a 3-year low in Asian trading, and likely to see the biggest weekly drop since mid-January. As reported at 3:00 p.m. (JST) in Tokyo, the U.S. Dollar Index, which measures the greenback’s strength against other major currencies, slipped to 73.030 .DXY, a 0.1% decline and near the 72.871 .DXY low struck...
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By: Barbara Zigah Unexpectedly weak data from the U.K.’s manufacturing sector pushes back the likelihood of an interest rate hike sending the Pound Sterling broadly lower in Asian trading. As reported at 2:34 p.m. (JST) in Tokyo, the Pound Sterling traded lower against the safe haven Swiss Franc at 1.4180, a decline of 1.5%. Against the U.S. Dollar, the Pound posted its largest single day drop in more than three months, falling...
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By: Barbara Zigah In Asian trading today, the U.S. Dollar slipped broadly lower as markets ponder the likely outcome of today’s Federal Open Market Committee Meeting. As reported at 3:39 p.m. (JST) in Tokyo, the greenback traded against the Australian Dollar at $1.0853, the lowest trade in 29 years. While against the safe haven Swiss Franc, the U.S. Dollar dropped to a record low 0.8669 Swiss Francs. The U.S. Dollar Index,...
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By: Barbara Zigah With the euphoria over the news of the al-Qaeda leader’s death now beginning to wane, the U.S. Dollar is hovering close to the 3-year low struck last week. As reported at 2:27 p.m. (JST) in Tokyo, the U.S. Dollar Index was at 73.153 .DXY, up .28%, yet just off the 72.722 .DXY low struck last week in New York. Analysts insist that, given the ultra-loose monetary policy of the U.S. Federal Reserve, it’s only...
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By: Barbara Zigah The common currency Euro slipped slightly against the U.S. Dollar in Asian trading today as Jean-Claude Trichet, the head of the European Central Bank, noted that he shares the same view as other central bankers that the a U.S. Dollar is in the best interest of the United States economy. Some analysts see that comment as evidence that the ECB is growing frustrated with the handling of monetary policy by...
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By: Barbara Zigah Ahead of today’s meeting of the European Central Bank’s rate setting committee, the common currency Euro has been rising toward a 17-month peak against the U.S. Dollar in Asian trade. Investors continue to speculate that the divergent policies of the ECB and the Federal Reserve Bank will benefit the Euro, though some analysts believe that recent comments from ECB officials suggest that further tightening...
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By: Barbara Zigah Following yesterday’s press conference held by Ben Bernanke, the chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve Bank, who fielded questions on the likely direction of the U.S. economy, the U.S. Dollar slipped to new multi-year lows against major currencies. As reported at 2:47 p.m. (JST) in Tokyo, the U.S. Dollar Index, a measure of the greenback’s strength against other major currencies, slipped to a 3-year trough...
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Last week the US dollar fell to a three-year low against many currencies as low yields were coupled with concerns over U.S. monetary and fiscal policy. At the same time, broad dollar weakness pushed the Swiss franc to an all-time high and the yen close to a one-month high. Despite the continued chance of debt restructuring in Greece which threatens to wreak havoc on the regional economy, the Euro rallied to a 16-month high against...
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By: Barbara Zigah Yesterday’s death of Osama bin Laden is making international headlines, as analysts focus on how it will affect everything from the U.S. army presence in the region to Obama’s popularity in the polls. But when it comes to Forex trading, the only question to ask is how the death of Osama bin Laden will affect the value of the U.S. Dollar. A quick look at how the currency fluctuated when Saddam Hussein was...
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By: Barbara Zigah With investors speculating that the Reserve Bank of Australia is likely to raise interest rates sooner than later given a higher inflation forecast, the Australian Dollar rose against the U.S. Dollar. As reported at 1:25 p.m. (JST) in Tokyo, the Aussie traded at $1.0687 against the greenback, up from $1.0579 in New York trading. It also moved higher against the Japanese Yen, trading at 85.94 Yen, up from...
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By: Barbara Zigah The greenback continues to lose ground against major currencies, with the U.S. dollar Index holding close to a 3-year low in Asian trading, and likely to see the biggest weekly drop since mid-January. As reported at 3:00 p.m. (JST) in Tokyo, the U.S. Dollar Index, which measures the greenback’s strength against other major currencies, slipped to 73.030 .DXY, a 0.1% decline and near the 72.871 .DXY low struck...
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By: Barbara Zigah In Asian trading today, the U.S. Dollar slipped broadly lower as markets ponder the likely outcome of today’s Federal Open Market Committee Meeting. As reported at 3:39 p.m. (JST) in Tokyo, the greenback traded against the Australian Dollar at $1.0853, the lowest trade in 29 years. While against the safe haven Swiss Franc, the U.S. Dollar dropped to a record low 0.8669 Swiss Francs. The U.S. Dollar Index,...
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By: Barbara Zigah Commodity linked currencies, including the common currency Euro and the Australian Dollar, rebounded in Asian trading today with the Euro rising against the U.S. Dollar to $1.4387, a gain of 0.4%. More than any other single factor, the Euro is continuing to gain support from interest rate hike speculation, and recent encouraging business activity data from France and Germany supports that likelihood. Another...
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By: Barbara Zigah The common currency Euro slipped slightly against the U.S. Dollar in Asian trading today as Jean-Claude Trichet, the head of the European Central Bank, noted that he shares the same view as other central bankers that the a U.S. Dollar is in the best interest of the United States economy. Some analysts see that comment as evidence that the ECB is growing frustrated with the handling of monetary policy by...
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By: Barbara Zigah The U.S. Dollar edged slightly lower against the Japanese Yen in Tokyo trading as investors pared away their carry trade positions, but most analysts expect that move will be short-lived with hedge fund operators and Japan-based life insurers positioning themselves ahead of what is likely to be another Yen slide. As reported at 3:13 p.m. (JST) in Tokyo, the U.S. Dollar slipped against the Yen to 82.42 Yen,...
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By: Barbara Zigah Whetted investor risk appetite has pushed the U.S. Dollar Index to its lowest point in 3 years, and analysts expect that further decline in the index is likely. The U.S. Dollar Index measures the greenback’s value against a weighted basket of major currencies, as reported at 3:46 p.m. (JMT) in Tokyo, the Index slipped to 73.898 .DXY, a decline of 0.6% and the lowest price since August 2008, significantly...
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By: Sara Patterson After the Australian government proved that producer prices surpassed estimated prices, the Australian dollar climbed to a new high. The New Zealand dollar also rose against the US dollar to a three-year high as speculation increased that New Zealand central bank will raise interest rates over the next year. The Australian dollar climbed to $1.0766, up from $1.0714 in New York yesterday, after reaching...
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Last week the US dollar fell to a three-year low against many currencies as low yields were coupled with concerns over U.S. monetary and fiscal policy. At the same time, broad dollar weakness pushed the Swiss franc to an all-time high and the yen close to a one-month high. Despite the continued chance of debt restructuring in Greece which threatens to wreak havoc on the regional economy, the Euro rallied to a 16-month high against...
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By: Barbara Zigah In Asian trading today, as investor focus returns to Eurozone fiscal problems the common currency Euro extended earlier losses against the greenback after failing to break above key resistance. As reported at 2:51 p.m. (JST) in Tokyo, the Euro slipped against the U.S. Dollar to $1.4377, a 0.4% after another failed attempt to break above $1.45. The Euro also fell against the Japanese Yen, slipping to 118.94...
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By: Barbara Zigah The U.S. Dollar Index remains hovered close to a 3-year low in light Asian trade, underpinned by the likelihood of prolonged low interest rates and a growing U.S. budget deficit. Some market players are expecting that as markets resume normal operations following the Easter holiday the Index is likely to test a record low. As reported at 3:12 p.m. (JST) in Tokyo, the U.S. Dollar fell to 73.735 .DXY, a new...
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By: Barbara Zigah According to some analysts, the divergence of the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy from that of the European Central Bank’s is what is driving the disparity between the U.S. Dollar and the common currency Euro. The Euro’s appreciation against the greenback appears proof of that theory, with the common currency hovering close to a 15-month high against the U.S. Dollar in Asian trading today. As reported...
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By: Barbara Zigah The Japanese Yen continues to broadly decline following last month’s devastating earthquake and tsunami in Japan, and with the concerted efforts of the G7 to keep the Japanese currency from appreciating during this reconstruction period. In Asian trading, the Yen struck an 11-month low against the common currency Euro, and a 2½ year trough against the Australian Dollar. Versus the U.S. Dollar, the Yen fell...
By: Barbara Zigah The U.S. Dollar rose against the Japanese Yen in Tokyo trading today as pension fund operators in Japan, as well as Japanese importers, bought the greenback heavily. As reported at 3:04 p.m. (JST) in Tokyo, the U.S. Dollar was trading against the Yen at 84.04 Yen, up from the 83.59 Yen in New York trading late Tuesday. Earlier in the session, the Dollar had slipped close to the 200-month...
By: Barbara Zigah Following the Reserve Bank of Australia’s announcement that their policy and rate setting committee decided to hold key interest rates at 4.75%, the Australian Dollar slipped against the U.S. Dollar; as reported at 2:58 p.m. (JST) in Tokyo, the Aussie dropped to $1.0329, a 0.3% decline. With inflationary pressure not quite the problem in Australia as it is elsewhere in the world, the RBA’s decision ha been...
By: Sara Patterson It’s been a month since the major earthquake that shook Japan, but a recent, smaller earthquake is causing the Yen to strengthen further. The currency was at 120.81 per Euro, up 1.1% from 122.12 in New York at the close of yesterday’s trading day. This is the Yen’s biggest daily gain since March 16. In JPY-USD trading, the Yen increased to 83.88 per dollar, up from 84.60. The US dollar also climbed yesterday,...
By: Barbara Zigah Ahead of the European Central Bank’s policy and rate setting meeting which is set to begin later in the global day, the common currency fell from multi-month peaks against the Japanese Yen and the U.S. Dollar. The ECB has strongly hinted that an interest rate increase would be forthcoming, but now investors are pondering exactly how much of one might be under consideration. Most analysts expect an increase...
By: Barbara Zigah The U.S. Dollar Index slipped to a new 16-month low in Asian trading today as investor speculation that the U.S. Federal Reserve Bank might alter its currently loose monetary policy grows more remote. The U.S. Dollar Index, which gauges the greenback’s strength versus a weighted basket of major currencies slipped to 74.676 .DXY, a year to date loss of nearly 5%. Yesterday’s publication of the Federal Reserve...
By: Barbara Zigah With a meeting of the European Central Bank’s policy setting committee looming later in the week, the common currency struck new multi-month peaks in Asian trading today. As reported at 2:34 p.m. (JST) in Tokyo, the Euro was trading against the Japanese Yen at one point as high as 120.00 Yen, a price not seen since May 2010, before slipping back to 119.65 Yen. Against the U.S. Dollar, the Yen was trading...
By: Barbara Zigah The Japanese Yen slipped lower against the common currency and the Australian Dollar in Asian trading today, and analysts expect further weakening as risk appetite increases, generally. As reported at 2:52 p.m. (JST) in Tokyo at one point in the session on the EBS trading platform the Euro traded against the Yen at 123.33 Yen, a 16% gain from the mid-March trough of 106.50 Yen, before trimming gains...
By: Barbara Zigah A day after a second earthquake struck the beleaguered island nation, the Japanese Yen fell broadly, striking multi-month lows against the U.S. Dollar and the common currency Euro. As reported at 1:22 p.m. (JST) in Tokyo, the Yen slipped against the U.S. Dollar to 85.140 Yen, a 0.3% decline and close to the 6-month low struck earlier in the week. The Yen also fell against the Euro, trading at 122.47 Yen,...
By: Barbara Zigah According to some analysts, the divergence of the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy from that of the European Central Bank’s is what is driving the disparity between the U.S. Dollar and the common currency Euro. The Euro’s appreciation against the greenback appears proof of that theory, with the common currency hovering close to a 15-month high against the U.S. Dollar in Asian trading today. As reported...
By: Mike Kulej The Japanese Yen has not been the only currency getting significantly weaker since the G7 central banks intervention few weeks ago. Another “safe haven” currency, the Swiss Franc has also been on defensive during the same time, falling broadly. This is particularly visible against the currencies where the CHF reached...
By: Mike Kulej The Australian Dollar has been one of the biggest beneficiaries of the intervention in the Japanese Yen by central banks in mid March. It has rallied about 1500 pips in relation to the JPY since, a very strong appreciation in such a short time. Last week the AUD-JPY reached a high for this price swing at 90.02. Since...
By: Mike Kulej The New Zealand Dollar has been one of the strongest currencies recently. Together with the Australian Dollar, the Kiwi staged impressive rallies in most of its crosses, which in some instances exceeded a 1000 pips mark. In case of the GBP-NZD the current move is even larger, about 1600 pips, as measured from the...
By: Mike Kulej In spite of bad news regarding sovereign debt of some of the member states of the European Union, the common currency has been getting stronger. Most analysts attribute it to the recent increase of the interest rates by the European Central Bank, or more precisely, the expectation of additional hikes. This rally in...
By: Christopher Lewis The EUR/GBP pair finds itself currently just over a bearish trend line that started in late 2008. The pair has been on a relentless march downward since that time, and as such has been a very easy short sale for months. This made sense, as the Europeans found themselves dealing with a sovereign debt issue that had...
By: Mike Kulej The Swiss Franc continues its historic rally, especially against the US Dollar. A few weeks ago, the USD-CHF made an all time low when it reached 0.8918. Since then this pair rebounded to 0.9340, where the downtrend resumed. Currently the price is about to test that record low. On Wednesday, the USD-CHF dropped to...
By: Mike Kulej Two weeks ago, the US Dollar dropped to an all time low against the Japanese Yen, reaching 76.12. It did not stay there for long, rebounding immediately. A couple of days later a coordinated intervention by central banks pushed it higher. This could have been an exhaustion move in a long-term bear market. During the...
By: Mike Kulej The New Zealand Dollar has been very popular lately. Since the joint G7 central banks' intervention in the Japanese Yen, all of the commodity currencies, including the NZD, registered significant gains. They even rallied in relation to the Swiss Franc, the strongest currency in recent weeks. In case of the NZD-CHF,...
By: Mike Kulej The intervention in the Japanese Yen last month was targeting the USD-JPY exchange rate, which was at an all time low. While other Yen crosses were not at extreme levels, they also benefited from that action, in most cases eve more than the US Dollar. One of them was the GBP-JPY, the ever-popular “beast”. For about...
By: Mike Kulej The New Zealand Dollar staged a very impressive rally lately. It advanced broadly, gaining on most currencies, including the US Dollar. During the last two weeks, the NZD-USD appreciated over 500 pips, strong performance when compared to preceding moves. This particular price swing may be ending. Numerous technical...
By: Saxo Bank The dollar continued to slide on Friday though a last minute deal on the U.S. budget preventing a U.S. government shutdown slowed the fall. Earlier, EURUSD was encouraged through 1.44 as Spain’s economics minister said a bailout was out of the question, while ECB’s Bonello commented that last Thursday’s rate hike would not make a great difference to Portugal. There was also talk that higher crude prices were...
By: Dr. Mike Campbell With the costs of reconstruction after the March 11th earthquake and tsunami put at $309 billion, an on-going crisis at the Fukushima nuclear power plant and rolling power cuts still hindering industrial output, the Bank of Japan has a lot to think about as it meets today. The bank has already injected the equivalent of 10% of the nation’s GDP ($439 billion) into the financial markets since the crisis...
By: Dr. Mike Campbell The world’s second largest economy has published its first quarterly trade deficit in seven years. Figures for Q1 2011 show that the trade deficit stood at $1.02 billion, according to the Chinese General Administration of Customs. Demand in Europe and the USA, critical Chinese export markets, continues to be sluggish as the regions slowly emerge from the financial crisis. China is hoping to stimulate...
By: Dr. Mike Campbell Re-employment always lags behind the economic recovery since businesses need to be sure that they need additional staff over the longer term once their order books begin to fill. The recent global financial recession was the deepest since the Great Depression of the inter war years. Typically, in an economic cycle following a recession, growth and re-employment are much stronger than has been the case...
