The strongest African economy may soon lose its position at least so tells us its currency. South African rand appears to be one of the worst performing currency of 2008. Rand, being an indicator of the national economys health, was the top loser against the U.S. dollar this January with a loss exceeding 4.4%. Although gold and platinum (South African export commodities) were appreciating fast last month, traders were concerned with electricity … “Rand â Worst Performer so Far”
Joaquin Almunia: Euro Above Equilibrium
Today before the G7 meeting in Tokyo, Japan, Joaquin Almunia, who is currently European Commissioner for Economic & Financial Affairs, told the reports that the European currency is still above its fair value. Despite the euro has already stopped its fast appreciation against the U.S. dollar, started a possibly strong decline against the Japanese yen and now is growing only against … “Joaquin Almunia: Euro Above Equilibrium”
Pound Recovers against Euro, Dollar, Yen
Today the Great Britain pound started to recover from the week-long losses against the other major currencies, such as the U.S. dollar, euro and the Japanese yen. Thats quite a surprise for the Forex traders, because yesterday BoE reduced the official Bank Rate by 0.25% and the pound was falling down strongly, especially against dollar. The only currency which reversed … “Pound Recovers against Euro, Dollar, Yen”
BoE Lowers Rates, ECB Holds Them
Today two important interest rates decision were highly anticipated by the markets â the monetary policy decisions by the European Central Bank (ECB) and the Bank of England (BoE). Before both of the banks released their monetary policy statements, the majority of the economic analysts were predicting the results. It was expected that BoE will lower the rates, while ECB will abstain from reducing or increasing the interest rates. Both predictions became real â the Bank … “BoE Lowers Rates, ECB Holds Them”
South African Reserves Gold Value Increases
Last month South African Reserve Bank bought less foreign currency reserves than in December 2007, as one of the ways to help the rand avoid further weakening. Spurred by the exports of now expensive commodities South African national reserves continued to grow in January, as the government tried to improve the national currencyâs position. Record high reserves in foreign currency and gold also help stabilizing the whole … “South African Reserves Gold Value Increases”
Yen at Two-Week High against Pound, Euro
Yesterdayâs triumph of the currencies against the Japanese yen didnât last too long. Today yen soared up to the two-week high against the euro and the Great Britain pound on the bearish stock market trading session. Yen also rose against U.S., Australian and New Zealand dollars, but didnât exit the medium-term bullish trend on the latter two. USD/JPY is going sideways on Forex for almost 3 weeks now. The Japanese yen also posted significant gains against the emerging marketsâ … “Yen at Two-Week High against Pound, Euro”
Yen Falls against High-Yeilders
Japanese yen continued to fall against other currencies today during the Asian session after the Reserve Bank of Australia lifted its interest rate to the historically high value â 7.00%. Investors sought to gain interest-based profits on such currency pairs as AUD/JPY, NZD/JPY and GBP/JPY, while the economy recession risks were slightly pulled back by the recent Fedâs rate cuts. Many Forex traders moved out of the carry trade positions after the global … “Yen Falls against High-Yeilders”
Australian Dollar Continues Gain against U.S. Dollar
Today during the Asian trading session on Forex Australian dollar continued its bullish trend against the U.S. dollar and reached the new maximum value since 14th of November, 2007. This gain follows up the previous week of growth on AUD/USD, which has yielded more than 2.7% rise to the Aussie. The driver of the todayâs growth is the widely spread speculation that the Reserve Bank of Australia will go for the rate increase tomorrow. If the interest rate in Australia will … “Australian Dollar Continues Gain against U.S. Dollar”
Polish Zloty Gains for Second Week
The rising interest rates difference between the U.S. and Poland stimulated the second week of Polish zlotyâs growth against the U.S. dollar. While the U.S. government and Federal Reserve remain concerned with the the rising recession risks, the Polish government and monetary authorities aim towards the inflation slowing. After it became known on Friday that the inflation in Poland reached the upper limit of the target level, investors became more confident in that the National Bank of Poland will … “Polish Zloty Gains for Second Week”
Canadian Dollar Grows on Improving Conjuncture
Canadian dollar rose this week again, after its sharp turn back from the long-term growth to the depreciation against the U.S. dollar. This growth was predated by the signs that the U.S. economy wonât be heading into recession soon. Canada is heavily relying on its commodities export and the possible weakening of its major consumer pressed significantly on the national currency. While the U.S. dollar was losing against all … “Canadian Dollar Grows on Improving Conjuncture”