The euro remained above the opening level against the US dollar and the Japanese yen even after the set of poor European macroeconomic data was released. The currency backed off against the Great Britain pound after last week’s massive gains. The German trade balance surplus shrank from â¬18.7 billion in September to â¬16.8 billion in October, more than was expected. The Sentix investor confidence index for the eurozone unexpectedly slipped from … “Euro Shows Resilience in Face of Poor Economic Data”
Month: December 2013
Canadian Dollar Struggles After Housing Starts Data
Canadian dollar is struggling a bit right now, thanks in part to housing data. The possibility of Fed tapering is also weighing on the loonie, even though it has eked out very modest gains against the greenback after being down earlier. Housing starts in Canada disappointed. Canada Mortgage & Housing Corp. reports that seasonally adjusted housing starts for November 2013 came in at 192.235. This is down … “Canadian Dollar Struggles After Housing Starts Data”
US Dollar Index Remains Soft as Traders Await Data
US dollar index remains soft right now as traders await retail sales data, expected to be released later this week. Traders are waiting to see if the US economic recovery is truly strong enough to support the idea of a taper from the Federal Reserve. For now, it’s mostly rangebound trading and a wait and see approach. While better than expected US data gave the greenback a bit of a boost last … “US Dollar Index Remains Soft as Traders Await Data”
Swiss Franc Flat as Unemployment Remains Stable & Retail Sales Grow
The Swiss franc was little changed today after reports showed that the unemployment level remained stable and retail sales continued to grow. The unemployment rate stayed at 3.2 percent in November, unchanged from the previous month. Retail sales grew 1.2 percent in October, year-on-year. The rate of growth was higher than in September (1.0 percent), but slower than analysts’ expectations (1.7 percent). The Swiss National Bank will make … “Swiss Franc Flat as Unemployment Remains Stable & Retail Sales Grow”
NZ Dollar Rallies on Manufacturing Sales, Loses Gains
The New Zealand dollar rose at the start of the trading session after data showed that manufacturing sales jumped last quarter, but was slowly falling since then and trades below the opening level right now. New Zealand manufacturing sales increased as much as 4.7 percent in the third quarter of 2013 after falling 1.2 percent in the previous three month. The Reserve Bank of New Zealand will conduct monetary policy meeting … “NZ Dollar Rallies on Manufacturing Sales, Loses Gains”
Can Positive Fundamentals Help Aussie Reverse Downtrend?
The Australian dollar was demonstrating weakness lately, though it was able to pare losses against the US dollar and the Japanese yen by the end of the last week. Does this mean that the currency is ready to reverse the downtrend? Not necessarily. The previous week was mixed in terms of economic reports. The Reserve Bank of Australia refrained from an interest rate cut, but signaled that it is still unhappy with the current … “Can Positive Fundamentals Help Aussie Reverse Downtrend?”
Euro Stronger After Week of Policy Decisions
This week was fairly important for the euro as the European Central Bank held its monetary policy meeting over the week. Several other central banks made policy decisions too and US nonfarm payrolls were another important event during the week. As was expected, the ECB held rates steady and this brought the euro higher. Other major central banks, the Bank of England and the Bank of Canada, also did not change … “Euro Stronger After Week of Policy Decisions”
Mexican Peso Gains as Interest Rates Remain Unchanged
The Mexican peso gained today after the central bank left interest rates unchanged after two consecutive cuts. The decision was driven by signs of economic recovery in Mexico. The Banco de Mexico left its benchmark interest rate at 3.5 percent. Mexico’s economy expanded 0.8 percent in the third quarter of 2013 after declining in the second quarter. Still, the central bank voiced concern that recovery is not certain in many … “Mexican Peso Gains as Interest Rates Remain Unchanged”
Yen Falls on Risk Appetite After US Nonfarm Payrolls
The Japanese yen fell against all other most-traded currencies today on speculations that failure to meet the inflation target will force the Bank of Japan to add monetary stimulus. The currency was also weak amid risk appetite on the Forex market. Traders were buying riskier currencies, not safer ones, after positive employment data from the United States. It was somewhat surprising behavior as better data increases chances … “Yen Falls on Risk Appetite After US Nonfarm Payrolls”
UK Pound Gets Boost on Housing Price Data
Once again, the focus in the United Kingdom is on housing price data. With UK home prices on the rise, the pound is gaining ground against its major counterparts. Sterling is suffering from a weekly drop, but it is paring its overall losses, thanks to the latest data. Even though the UK economy has made strides in recent weeks, there are still difficulties associated with the pound’s performance. … “UK Pound Gets Boost on Housing Price Data”