posted by Admin on Feb 18
The US Dollar moved higher as traders fled the Euro and Australian Dollar once again, and there was some bullish indications from the release of the Fed minutes. Following a good run, some of the sparkle has run out of the Euro, with investors appearing to prefer the relative safety of the US Dollar. The push higher was furthered as minutes showed that Federal Reserve policy makers had discussed asset selling.
Market News
US housing starts figures released yesterday rallied to a 6 month high
The Bank of Japan held rates at 0.1%, as expected last night, by a unanimous vote. Their economy continues to pick up.
The IMF announced that they planned to sell 191 tonnes of gold on the open market as opposed to central banks.
Major Economic News
TIME MARKET DATA
1330 US PPI
posted by Admin on Feb 17
The Euro registered its biggest single day move to the upside since July 2009 as concerns about euro zone debt subsided. The rebound for the Euro signals that traders think the sell-off may have been overdone, with the number of Euro short positions being reduced as risk appetite softens.
Market News
The UK’s CPI came in as forecast at 3.5%, well above the government’s target of 3.5%
Unemployment levels in the UK rose by 23,500 in January to its highest level since April 1997
The Bank of England minutes were released showing that members voted 9-0 to pause the asset purchasing scheme
The minutes from the last FOMC meeting are scheduled to be released at 1900 GMT
Major Economic News
TIME MARKET DATA
1330 US HOUSING STARTS AND PERMITS
posted by Admin on Feb 8
This was one of the most volatile weeks the markets have had in quite some time. The markets began the week attempting to bounce from near term oversold conditions and rallying to the prior weeks highs. However, they gave way to steep declines on Thursday and most of Friday on a large increase in volume. By mid-day Friday, it seemed like the indexes would finish off the week at their lows but in the afternoon the bulls mounted a strong assault on the bears, firmly reversing the intraday trend. All the indexes finished with slight gains on huge volume, while trading well off their intraday lows and forming a candle pattern commonly referred to as a hammer.
posted by Admin on Feb 5
A huge night in the foreign exchange markets saw a flight to safety, with traders continuing to flee the Euro amid concerns that the sovereign debt issues in Greece may spread further afield, to weaker economies such as Spain and Portugal. Sterling fell to its lowest levels against the US dollar in 4 months, and the Euro hit an eight month low.
Market News
Barclays Capital economists warned that the Greek issue could spread to create a “Lehman-style tsunami spreading across much of the EU”
Yesterdays initial jobless claims in the US came in a lot lower than expected, with claims rising by 8,000 to 480,000, way above analysts’ expectations, who forecast a fall of 10,000
Both the UK and the ECB left rates unchanged at 0.5% and 1% respectively
Following 11 months of support, the Bank of England announced that they would be pausing their quantative easing programme
Please note that the non-farm payroll figures are scheduled for release at 1330 this afternoon
posted by Admin on Dec 15
The dollar strengthened against the Euro and the Japanese Yen ahead of tomorrow’s Interest Rate decision, albeit it has fallen back in early trade. Relief that the Dubai and Greek debt situations have been clarified has in part added to confidence levels.
Market News
The Dubai loan has tempered fears over further sovereign debt defaults
Commenting on sovereign debt, Moody’s stated this morning that they feel that AAA rated countries should look to reduce debt as opposed to waiting for the economies to improve
Fitch commented this morning that China avoided recession, but risks remain in place
Major Economic News
TIME MARKET DATA
1330 Core PPI
