FX & Currencies

On a day when bond yields increased, U.S. stocks ended mildly positive and the dollar strengthened against the Japanese Yen, the greenback’s weakness against other major currencies reflects the positive risk appetite in the financial markets. For example, the Australian dollar’s ability to climb to the highest level against the buck in more than a month indicates that demand for high yielding currencies remain strong. Considering the possibility… Continue reading

Dollar bears are in control today as weaker housing market data confirms Fed President Duke's warning that the headwinds in the housing market are relatively strong. Pending home sales dropped 16 percent in November, the sharpest decline since the National Association of Realtors starting tracking the data in 2001.

Currencies and stocks are starting the New Year with a bang. On the heels of solid manufacturing data from China and an optimistic outlook for the New Decade, higher yielding currencies appreciated throughout the European trading and into the U.S. trading session.

It is officially a New Year, a New Decade and we want to wish everyone the greatest success! As we look forward to 2010, many people may be wondering if the dollar will continue to strengthen. Before attempting to address this question, it is important to recognize that much of the weakness in the U.S. dollar over the past year has been triggered by the Federal Reserve lowering interest… Continue reading

Within a few hours, we will be ringing in a New Year and a New Decade. Although stocks ended the last trading day of 2009 in negative territory, the dollar was mixed, extending its gains against the Japanese Yen and the euro but losing ground against the British pound.

In low liquidity trading environments it is very common to see a mixed performance in the currency market. With one more day to go before the end of the year, the dollar traded higher against the Japanese Yen and Canadian Dollar, was unchanged against the Euro and weakened against the British pound, Franc, Australian Dollar, and New Zealand Dollar. Chicago PMI was the only piece of U.S. economic… Continue reading

The lack of liquidity in the financial markets this week finally triggered low volume breakouts in the foreign exchange market. The Australian and New Zealand dollars for example strengthened dramatically against the greenback despite the lack of any Australian or New Zealand economic data. The euro ended the day only marginally weaker against the dollar, but the 0.2 percent decline masks significant intraday volatility.

The foreign exchange markets are traditionally very quiet the Monday after Christmas because it is a bank and public holiday in the U.K., Canada, Australia, Switzerland, Germany and New Zealand. The lack of London traders is particularly significant because roughly 34 percent of the $3.98 trillion in daily turnover occurs in London. Although the U.S. and Tokyo markets are open today, volume is particularly light because most traders… Continue reading

In 2010 we are ringing in a New Year and a New Decade. Before we start thinking about what could come in the next year however, we want to take this opportunity to talk about the 5 most memorable forex events of the decade. The past 10 years has been a rollercoaster ride for everyone. The highs include the birth of social networking, the growing popularity of… Continue reading

Ahead of Christmas holidays, dollar bears finally have something to celebrate. For the second day in row, the U.S. dollar gave back its gains against higher yielding currencies. The combination of a shortened trading day and the approval by the Greek Parliament of an "austerity budget" aimed to reduce the deficit to GDP ratio from 12.7 percent to 9.1 percent next year has led to profit taking on… Continue reading

Another round of weak economic data has forced the U.S. dollar to give up its gains. Although the lofty University of Michigan consumer confidence numbers were revised lower for December, it does not draw away from the fact that confidence improved dramatically this month.

Dollar bulls remain in control despite thin trading conditions and the lack of U.S. economic data. The greenback extended its gains against every major currency with the Australian dollar and Japanese Yen losing the most ground. The rally in U.S. equities has evoked speculation about whether the Santa Claus rally has come early this year. According to the Stock Traders Almanac, “it is pretty much clockwork” for stocks… Continue reading

On the last trading day before Christmas week, when everyone goes into holiday mode, the dollar held onto its recent gains against all of the major currencies except for the comm dollars (AUD, NZD and CAD). Although many of the major currency pairs ended the day virtually unchanged, on an intraday basis, there was quite a bit of volatility in both currencies and equities. Considering that today is Quadruple… Continue reading