European Central Bank officials, led by President Jean-Claude Trichet, addressed mounting evidence of an economic recovery with caution, suggesting they won’t rush to reverse their emergency stimulus anytime soon. Economic numbers scheduled to be released this week may increase optimism that a recovery is currently in progress.
At a meeting over the weekend in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, the U.S. Federal Reserve continued to hold to its intention to maintain interest rates exceptionally…
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Added by Forex Daily Digest on August 23, 2009 at 7:23pm —
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Concern over the continued volatility of the world economy helped support the USD against major counterparts. There were a number of economic fundamentals that affected early trading. Initially, the spotlight was on Germany's finance ministry, which warned that it remains unsure whether the stabilization of the economy will hold. This just a week after German gross domestic product unexpectedly returned to growth in the second quarter.
A Bank of Japan board member told business…
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Added by Forex Daily Digest on August 21, 2009 at 7:41am —
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The USD fell against the EUR as a rebound on Wall Street reduced safe-haven demand for the dollar. The USD weakened against the JPY, although it came off the day's worst levels as a sharp drop in China's stock market raised concerns about the global economic outlook.
The GBP has had a bad week, a let-down after five months of consistent gains. Currency analysts say the normally volatile currency could still pick up some recently lost ground because its major rival, the USD, is facing…
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Added by Forex Daily Digest on August 19, 2009 at 9:02pm —
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Better-than-expected quarterly profits from retailers like Home Depot, Target and American Express led to a bounce-back for financials which helped stocks close higher yesterday. In the wake of steep declines in the past two sessions, consumer stocks had a solid move higher. While concern about the health of the American consumer remains, largely due to a still weakened labor market, some within the industry were able to suppress investor fears on the session.
The USD and JPY may…
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Added by Forex Daily Digest on August 18, 2009 at 9:00pm —
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The USD and the JPY traded near the highest levels in more than two weeks against the EUR as stocks dropped globally over concern the economic recovery may falter. Wall Street fell in yesterday’s trading, falling for the second straight session, as worries that nervous U.S. consumers will pressure a delicate recovery pulled stocks lower after a five-month advance. The Dow Jones industrial average lost 186 points, or 2%, after having lost as much as 204 points earlier. The S&P 500 index fell…
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Added by Forex Daily Digest on August 18, 2009 at 7:32am —
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The JPY was broadly firmer today after weak economic data out of the U.S clouded the outlook for a quick global recovery, prompting further profit taking in commodity-linked currencies after their exceptional rally. Japan’s currency advanced against all 16 major counterparts on expectations that the world’s second-largest economy climbed out of its worst postwar recession last quarter. The EUR fell against the JPY for a second day on speculation Asian stocks will extend a drop in global…
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Added by Forex Daily Digest on August 17, 2009 at 6:31am —
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The USD showed weakness against most major counterparts, undercut by disappointing U.S. July retail-sales figures, while data showed Germany and France unexpectedly returned to growth in the second quarter. Currency markets also digested this week’s Federal Reserve's announcement to leave interest rates unchanged and to gradually slow its purchases of Treasuries.
The Federal Reserve Bank of New York announced that U.S. monetary authorities did not intervene in foreign exchange…
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Added by Forex Daily Digest on August 14, 2009 at 8:02am —
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The USD overcame earlier losses against major counterparts after the U. S. Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged, near zero percent, and said it would gradually slow its purchases of Treasuries. The Fed promised to keep interest rates exceptionally low "for an extended period of time," even as it drew encouragement from a stronger economic outlook.
The Fed will let its Treasury-buying program, part of its "quantitative easing" measures, end in October. Allowing the program…
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Added by Forex Daily Digest on August 12, 2009 at 9:11pm —
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The USD held losses against the JPY and the EUR yesterday after an auction of $37 billion in U.S. Treasury notes. And government data showed that U.S. non-farm productivity in the second quarter rose at the fastest pace in six years as American companies cut costs to protect their profits. The Labor Department said productivity rose at a 6.4 percent annual rate, that’s the biggest gain since the third quarter of 2003.
Deutsche Bank AG said that the EUR will probably fall to 130 yen…
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Added by Forex Daily Digest on August 12, 2009 at 7:34am —
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The USD gained for a third straight day against a basket of currencies yesterday as investors continued to trade on the strong U.S. jobs numbers from last Friday while awaiting the Federal Reserve's statement after its policy meeting later this week. Analysts said extending the USD's latest gains may center on the actions and words of the Fed.
The U.S. sees a large group of economic releases this week, although events will be dominated by Wednesday’s FOMC announcement. We look for the…
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Added by Forex Daily Digest on August 11, 2009 at 7:14am —
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Get ready for another exciting trading week ahead. It appears that Asian markets started the week on an upbeat note after strong gains at the end of the week on Wall Street. Japanese shares received an additional boost as the yen's recent sharp fall encouraged exporters such as Honda Motor Co.
Japanese core machinery orders jumped 9.7% in June from the previous month, a much larger increase than the 2.9% rise expected on average by economists. Core orders exclude often-large orders…
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Added by Forex Daily Digest on August 10, 2009 at 7:30am —
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The markets are a bit skittish ahead of this morning’s Non-Farm payrolls report. Investors have been watching key economic data closely for any signs of a recovery. Sizeable job losses have already taken a toll on consumer spending.
The EUR and the GBP lost ground against the U.S. dollar after the Bank of England and the European Central Bank kept interest rates unchanged. The USD, which has served as a safe-haven currency, also benefited from hesitations ahead of the key U.S. July…
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Added by Forex Daily Digest on August 6, 2009 at 8:45pm —
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The USD fell to its lowest point this year against the EUR, giving up gains after a drop in U.S. stocks and a poor report on the U.S. services sector. The USD will be the major focus, as the Bank of England and European Central Bank hold rate meetings ahead of the New York stock market opening. Analysts do not expect rate moves from either the ECB or Bank of England. The U.K., which has had more favorable housing and ISM data recently, is unlikely to take any rate action or say much at all. The…
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Added by Forex Daily Digest on August 6, 2009 at 7:44am —
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The stock market took off for a bit of a run again yesterday. More buying in bank and financial issues and a Caterpillar-led gain for industrials helped stocks close slightly higher, although a pullback for utilities limited the day's trading. Insurers, financials and even REITs have all shown some strength. Earnings reports are, of course, the biggest driver of this recent stock growth.
In the end, the Dow Jones industrial average ended the day 33 points higher finishing at 9,320,…
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Added by Forex Daily Digest on August 5, 2009 at 7:30am —
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It was all about the earnings. Solid profits for Barclays and HSBC prompted another day of gains for the financials, while increasing demand for commodities. This assisted Alcoa to lead the broader market to its highest closes in almost nine months. With the USD deteriorating and a report showing manufacturing activity in China is growing, prices of crude oil and several metals increased.
One of the biggest earnings reports of the day came from Ford Motor Company. The automaker…
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Added by Forex Daily Digest on August 4, 2009 at 7:27am —
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The USD fell more than 1% at the end of the week after the U.S. government said the economy contracted less than economists expected, but still indicated negative trends in consumer spending. Gross domestic product fell 1% in the second quarter, better than the 1.2% decrease which was expected by economists. Traders picked through revisions of past data and components of the report and watched stocks since the USD is so closely tried to indications of investors' risk appetite.
The…
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Added by Forex Daily Digest on August 2, 2009 at 8:38pm —
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After two consecutive days of declines, the Dow finished the day up almost 84 points to 9154.46 yesterday marking its highest close since Nov. 4th. With one day left in the month, the index is up 8.4% and is in line for its best monthly percentage increase since October 2002. The Labor Department reported that initial claims for jobless benefits were up, though the number of continuing weekly claims fell to its lowest level since April 11th.
The USD gave up some midweek gains…
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Added by Forex Daily Digest on July 31, 2009 at 7:56am —
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The USD posted some hefty gains after the government reported that U.S. durable-goods orders fell more than expected and caused the stock market to lose ground while increasing demand for the USD as a safe haven. Commerce said orders for U.S.-made durable goods dropped 2.5% on weaker demand for autos, aircraft and computers. Economists anticipated a more modest 0.6% drop. May orders were revised down from a rise of 1.8% to 1.3%.
Gold futures fell, joining a broad-based sell-off in…
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Added by Forex Daily Digest on July 30, 2009 at 7:46am —
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The USD hit the lowest level this year against the currencies of six major U.S. trading partners as supposition that the global economy is emerging from the recession lessened the demand for a refuge. The AUD advanced to the highest level since September against the USD after the Reserve Bank said the economy may rebound faster than forecast six months ago. The EUR had a seven-week high against the USD.
The United States and China discussed two sensitive topics -- currencies and…
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Added by Forex Daily Digest on July 29, 2009 at 8:02am —
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The USD was down against other major currencies in European trading this morning. Gold was unchanged.
The Obama administration welcomed Chinese government officials to Washington for two days of intensive and wide-ranging talks, saying the White House wanted to promote cooperation on economic and diplomatic issues. Analysts said government officials in the U.S. and China are more aware due to the global recession that the two superpower economies are closely linked. China's central…
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Added by Forex Daily Digest on July 28, 2009 at 7:30am —
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