Gauntlet Of News

31-10-2011

Markets began to turn cautious on Friday after a week of solid gains throughout the broad markets among perceived riskier financial assets. The EUR which had made significant strides all week on the back of the E.U. summit began to run into some headwinds. The GBP followed the EUR centric mode and began to show signs of some selling pressure Friday. Gold which reached short term highs on Thursday also started to slip. As of this morning the precious metal is around 1713.00 USD. Crude Oil also followed suit as commodities in general reflected the general attitude that the market may have been over bought.

Equities, particularly on Wall Street, began to languish and volumes became lighter going into the weekend. This as investors perhaps wanted to think about their positions given the fact that October has produced gains in the bourses and today, Monday, is the last trading day of the month. Short term momentum has certainly earned better value for the EUR, GBP, AUD, and equities this month, but it is likely that many contrarians are lurking and questioning the success of these assets.

German Retail Sales will be released today along with U.K. Net Lending to Individuals data. This will be an important week for the markets and the only question is if investors will have the stamina to monitor all the highlights after having an avalanche of rumors and developments engulf them the past few weeks. On Wednesday the Fed’s FOMC monetary policy statement will be delivered. On Thursday the passing of the torch will officially take place as the ECB sees its new President take over, Mario Draghi, for the outgoing Jean Claude Trichet. The European Central Bank will be given no holiday as it issues its monetary policy decision and Draghi takes the podium to conduct the helm of the press conference. And to top it off on Friday the United States will publish their Non Farm Employment Change numbers.

Data from Europe continues to be less than promising and many are wondering how little in the way of growth will mesh with severe austerity measures including the financial packages the E.U. has been trying to put together for its fragile banking sector. Sovereign debt issues have not disappeared either and Italy appears to have a target on its back now and its recent selling of bonds produced struggling yields – meaning that the bonds showed demand weakness. The ECB will be confronted by tough questions on Thursday and all eyes will be on Draghi as he conducts his first press conference. From the U.S. data has actually shown some signs of life, the GDP was slightly better than expected that is for certain. But many questions remain and the housing and consumer sentiment data has been lackluster at best. The jobless numbers that will begin coming on Wednesday will be significant for investors. However, in the context of the current market conditions, in which investor sentiment appears very much on a razor’s edge because of so many macroeconomic issues, investors cannot be faulted for looking in a myriad of directions.

The JPY finally got its expected intervention this morning from the BoJ. The central bank confirmed that it took action when the JPY was felt to have grown too strong for its own good. On the intervention the JPY promptly weakened against the USD. The BoJ has tried to intervene before and this morning’s action will be of interest for traders who may consider participating in a speculative gauntlet as they ponder the BoJ’s next move. Meaning that the last time the BoJ intervened, it essentially walked away and the JPY grew stronger again. Will the same thing happen this time around?

Trends Reverse…Slightly 17-05-2012

The Euro is up slightly against the greenback during early European trading on Thursday, but remains far below levels from two weeks ago. The EUR/USD is up 0.18% and trading at 1.2739 this morning, rebounding from a 0.10% decline during yesterday’s trading in the United States that saw the pair close the session at 1.2717. The Dollar is [...]

The Collapse of Oil Prices Continues 16-05-2012

Early trading on Wednesday saw a continuing trend of investor concern towards the Greek political crisis and a rush to the greenback. With the chance of Greece leaving the Eurozone more likely with each passing day, the Euro continues to struggle against the Dollar. The EUR/USD is down 0.11% in early European trading this morning, at [...]

European Uncertainty 15-05-2012

The U.S. Dollar was up against most major currencies on Monday, as investor uncertainty regarding the Greek political crisis continued to push investors towards the safe haven of the greenback. The Euro is up slightly at the beginning of the European trading session on Tuesday by 0.05%, sitting at 1.2828. The Euro has declines sharply [...]

Euro Falls Once Again 14-05-2012

Political uncertainty in Greece and mass protests in Spain has pushed the EUR/USD down 0.15% to 1.2897 during late Asian trading on Monday. In fact, the greenback was either steady or up against most major currencies as traders searched for a temporary safe haven in order to dodge uncertainty in the markets. The increased value of the [...]

Time Is Ticking For Greece 11-05-2012

The Euro is back on the decline during Asian trading on Friday, with the EUR/USD down 0.14% and trading at 1.2920. The pair continues to hover at around 1.3000 after the single currency took a major hit due to fears surrounding political instability in Greece and future fiscal policy in France. The pound is also down against the greenback [...]

Euro Declines Stop 10-05-2012

The Euro has rebounded slightly against the USD during Asian trading on Thursday after posting huge losses over the last several days. The EUR/USD is up 0.15% and trading at 1.2946. The majority of major currencies are also up against the greenback this morning, including the Pound, Swiss Franc and Australian Dollar. The Aussie posted [...]

Euro Decline Continues 09-05-2012

The beginning of trading on Wednesday continued the negative trend of the Euro and oil. The Euro continues to decline sharply, down 0.24% and trading at 1.2975. The EUR/USD broke through the 1.3000 barrier earlier this week after European elections in France and Greece cast a shadow over the future of the single currency. The Euro is also [...]

Declines Continue for Oil and Euro 08-05-2012

The Euro is down once again during late Asian trading on Monday, after suffering huge losses yesterday. The EUR/USD is down 0.15% and trading at 1.3032. The single currency did manage to recover somewhat during late trading yesterday, rebounding from a decline of 0.81% at the end of the Asian trading session. Investors continue to show [...]

Future of the Euro in Doubt? 07-05-2012

Two key election results in the European Union are threatening to undo the single currency. Francois Hollande is the new president of France, after defeating Nicolas Sarkozy by a small margin in the second round of elections. Hollande is the first socialist president in France in the last seventeen years. Many voters in France expressed [...]

Oil Prices Plummet 04-05-2012

Oil prices plummeted during the U.S. trading session on Thursday after European Central Bank President Mario Draghi expressed concern over future growth of the EU economy. The price of crude was down 2.48% and trading at 102.61 USD per barrel. Oil was also hit hard because Draghi claimed that ECB was not planning to increase liquidity in [...]

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