Monthly Archives: September 2009
Yen/Yang?
I’ve written recently about the strength of the Japanese yen and some of the reasons behind the move that brought JPY to an eight month high vs. the US dollar (USD). Last week, Japan’s Finance Minister Fuji had voiced his opposition to government intervention to slow the strength of the Yen, but this week he may be changing his tune. Continue reading
Aussie Leads the Way on Rate Hike Speculation!
In a Bloomberg report out today, Australian Central Bank Governor Glenn Stevens announced that “government stimulus spending needs to be eased and that interest rates need to be raised” in light of Australian’s expanding economy. This of course is good news for AUD/USD (+.79%) and GBP/AUD (-1.11%) today as the US dollar is now the “carry trade” vehicle of choice and we’ve already discussed British Pound weakness ad nauseam in the blogs articles below. This means that investors and traders will be selling USD and buying AUD in order to profit from the interest rate differentials. As long as the Australian economy continues to expand, this will be a profitable trade as they are clearly ahead of the US with regard to having a sound economy which will need to “cool off”. Continue reading
All About Yen!
Another strong day for the yen today, up against all of the currency pairs commonly followed. Its particularly strong against GBP (+2.07), as I’ve noted over the last couple days the problems facing the Sterling. So while GBP and USD get all of the attention with their QE (quantitative easing) programs, the Yen just quietly chugs along. Continue reading
Tough Start for GBP!
Sometimes in trading you just have to stick with your initial “gut” feeling. Yesterday I wrote in an article below, “Sound As A Pound…. For Now” that I thought the long-term outlook for GBP was negative but that it would probably take a while for the market to catch on before the serious selling would begin. Apparently not. And I highly doubt its because the market reads this blog, though one never knows! LOL Anyway, GBP is getting slaughtered this morning, with GBP/JPY (-2.30%), GBP/USD (-1.92%), EUR/GBP (+1.64%), and GBP/CHF (-1.73%). Continue reading
See What I Mean?
It looks like the FED did as was expected and the market was kind enough to follow suit, by selling the dollar and buying up other currencies. But see what I mean about the volatility! Take a look at this 5-minute chart of EUR/USD. (click chart to enlarge) Over 60 pips in less than a few minutes! Hopefully readers you took my advice and sold USD bought other currencies, or steered clear of the mayhem all together! Want to learn how to spot forex trading opportunities based on the fundamentals? Click Here . Continue reading
FOMC Rate Decision at 2:15 EST!
Just a head’s up for the day-traders out there, whom I’m sure are thoroughly familiar with the price action that occurs right around the rate decision. I usually advise that the less-experienced traders sit this event out as the increased volatility can spook even the most seasoned vets. Continue reading
Sound As A Pound….For Now!
Yesterday, the Bank of England vote unanimously to leave the size of its asset purchase plan unchanged at 175 billion pounds and voted to leave interest rates unchanged at 0.5%. This is seemingly good news for the Pound in the near-term, as the currency markets are reflecting this morning with the British pound up vs. other currencies. Continue reading
That Didn’t Take Long!
It looks like the markets now are soooo convinced to not expect anything out of the FOMC and Ben Bernanke that they are not even going to wait for the confirmation. Risk appetite is back today in a major way and the dollar is giving back some of the short-term gains I mentioned in yesterday’s blog post and then some. The US dollar is down across the board, most notably against the commodity currencies; kiwi NZD (-2.07%) and aussi AUD (-1.13%). The US equitites markets are positive and its been good morning for oil (+1.82%) and gold (1.48%) as well. Continue reading
Dollar Strength Going Into the FOMC Meeting, G-20
All eyes are on Bernanke and the FED this week as investors are seeking a little more clarity over Federal Reserve Policy going forward and what they plan to do with regard to interest rates. Continue reading
Currency Markets Drinking the Bernanke Kool-Aid!
It is appears as though the currency markets are believing the economic numbers that are coming out of the US, that inflation is tame at .4% so that there is no chance that Bernanke and the Fed will even consider raising rates anytime soon. Continue reading