Archive for the ‘Euro’ Category

Sterling slipped to a five-week low against the euro on Monday (September 26), as lingering worries over the economic impact of Britain’s impending exit from the European Union weighed on the currency.

The pound also traded close to a five-week low against the dollar at $1.2985, leaving it less than two cents away from the three-decade low below $1.28 it plumbed in the wake of June’s Brexit vote.

After hitting that low in July, sterling gained 5 percent versus the dollar by early September, as data showed the post-referendum economy holding up better than had been feared. But with parliament back from its summer recess, Brexit worries have come back into investors’ radar and have dampened appetite for the currency.

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Sterling steadied on Monday (September 12) after its first week of losses in four, with traders debating whether the currency had topped out for the moment as they awaited a speech by U.S. Federal Reserve board member Lael Brainard.

The pound dipped last week against the dollar and euro but has broadly done well in the past month as a handful of economic indicators suggested the UK economy was holding up better than expected after June’s vote to leave the European Union.

It was up roughly 0.3 percent at $1.3304 and 84.37 pence per euro by 3.30pm on Monday (September 12).

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Sterling traded close to a three-week high against the dollar on Thursday (August 25) and was on track for its best week in six, with worries over the economic impact of Britain’s vote to leave the European Union easing a little after recent better-than-expected data.

The pound was also on track for its best week in six weeks against the euro, having hit a two-week high against the single currency on Wednesday (August 24).

Short positions on sterling had reached a record high of 94,238 contracts in the week to August 16, and traders said many speculators had this week been unwinding bets and booking profits, which had helped lift the currency.

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Speculators that are the most bearish on sterling in nearly 25 years may be vindicated by a report published on Monday (August 1) showing Brexit is probably hitting Britain harder than markets previously envisaged.

Sterling declined versus most of its 16 major peers as the data showed UK manufacturing shrank more than initially forecast in July.

Hedge funds and other large speculators ran the biggest net short positions, or bets on the currency’s decline, since records began amid speculation that the Bank of England will cut interest rates for the first time in more than seven years on Thursday, August 4 to head off the risk of recession.

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The yen rose more than 1 per cent against the dollar and the euro on Tuesday (July 26), as traders dialled back expectations of how much new stimulus Japanese authorities will inject into an ailing economy.

The Bank of Japan is expected to announce expanded asset purchases and a rate cut further into negative territory at the end of its policy meeting on Friday (July 29).

Meanwhile the government is compiling a spending package that some sources have estimated could be worth up to 20 trillion yen. But a Nikkei report on Tuesday (July 26) said direct fiscal stimulus into the economy would amount to about 6 trillion yen over the next few years.

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Sterling was firmer on Wednesday (July 13), trading near a two-week high against the euro as Theresa May was set to take over as Britain’s prime minister, easing some of the political uncertainty that has dogged the currency in the past few weeks.

Traders will keep an eye on who will be appointed as finance minister with many awaiting for clarity on the new prime minister’s detailed thinking on triggering Article 50, the procedure for exiting the European Union.

May has said “Brexit means Brexit”, but added Britain will not rush to trigger the formal divorce proceedings. The uncertainty over whether Britain will be able to retain access to the single market after exiting the EU, along with expectations that the Bank of England could cut rates on Thursday (July 14), are likely to make traders wary of sterling.

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The pound tumbled to a new 31-year low on Wednesday (July 6), at one point dipping below $1.28, on fears over the effect of last month’s Brexit vote on Britain’s property market and the prospect of cuts in Bank of England interest rates.

The pound, one of the main vehicles through which financial markets can express concern about Britain’s decision to leave the European Union, fell as low as $1.2798 in Asian trading, its lowest since June 1985. It recovered to about $1.2891 in afternoon trading in London.

That still left it more than 13 per cent weaker than it was before the June 23 referendum, and about 1 per cent lower on the day.

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Scandinavia’s biggest bank estimates Denmark sold almost $750 million in kroner to weaken the currency after it became clear early on Friday (June 24) that Britons had voted to leave the European Union.

The flight into safe-haven markets triggered by Brexit drove the krone to its strongest level against the euro in more than a decade, forcing the central bank to intervene to defend its currency peg.

The bank probably sold about 5 billion kroner ($744 million) on Friday (June 24), according to Jan Stoerup Nielsen, a senior analyst at Nordea in Copenhagen. That follows a resumption of interventions to weaken the krone in May for the first time since February last year, when Denmark’s euro peg was under a speculative attack. Interventions in May reached 23.6 billion kroner.

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With the Brexit vote taking place in less than 48 hours, many Forex online traders (Foreign Exchange Market) are sweating at their palms. Numerous, who are trading, had said that the markets were looking incredibly risky. Investors have been closely been following the vote. The vote will take place on Thursday. According to recent polls, the vote is set to be substantially close.
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With sterling trades seen too expensive, the yen and Swiss franc are in demand according to in-depth research by news agency Bloomberg.

The UK’s referendum on European Union membership is spurring volatility in the pound, making trading sterling increasingly expensive. Banks are pointing clients toward alternative currency bets or hedges that could fare well regardless of the outcome.

Here is a list of analysts’ favourite trades as written in research notes or recommended in interviews conducted by Bloomberg News in recent days.

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The dollar climbed to a two-month high against the euro as traders boosted wagers that U.S. interest rates will rise, starting as early as next month.

The greenback strengthened versus most of its major peers after Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia President Patrick Harker said on Monday, May 23 that he could see two to three rate increases this year, echoing remarks by the San Francisco Fed Bank’s John Williams.

Futures are indicating for the first time since March a better-than 50 percent chance that the Federal Open Market Committee will raise rates by its July meeting.

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The pound rallied the most in three weeks after a poll of UK voters released on Monday showed people who support a campaign to remain in the European Union exceeded those saying they will vote to leave by a wider margin than last month.

Sterling rose against most of its 16 major peers after the ORB/Telegraph poll showed 55 percent of respondents were in favour of remaining in the European Union, while 40 percent wanted to leave.

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Less than two months after Goldman Sachs Group Inc. softened its short-term euro forecast after a central-bank policy meeting, the bank is doing the same with the yen.

Japan’s currency is likely to strengthen until Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda rolls out or signals additional stimulus measures, analysts led by Robin Brooks, the bank’s chief currency strategist, wrote in a note to clients on Monday.

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Eyes on the Euro?

There are a few key points to mention in this latest segment of online Forex trading news.

This week, the relationship between the dollar and the euro remained relatively unchanged after unexpectedly weak American housing data was released.

Analysts had expected the market to rise a single percentage point and yet, statistics showed that sales dropped 1.5 per cent.
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The latest round of online forex trading news highlights the continued fact that traders are adopting a “watch and wait” approach in terms of any significant movements. Part of the reason for this strategy is that there is relatively little data expected to be released over the next few days.

If anything, the details which have emerged are far from promising. Once again, economic figures released from China have echoed weakness while the recent sell-off in oil (regardless of short-term technical gains) highlights that markets are still in a sluggish position.
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A considerable amount of attention by online Forex traders has centred around the relationship between the United States dollar and the euro. There continues to be a significant amount of speculation in regards to the monetary strategies employed by the Federal Reserve in relation to the actions of the ECB.

In particular, surprisingly robust employment figures out of the United States have hinted that the Fed may hike interest rates in December.
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If you believe Ingvar Kamprad- Sure!

The expectations – to develop a strong European financial player. (more…)

All eyes have been understandably focused on Greece during the past week. What appeared to be a rather tenuous bailout offer has been accepted by the Greek parliament and pushed through at the eleventh hour by the European Union. While the massive €80 billion euros required to ease the financial tensions and imbue liquidity into the Greek economy may be a welcome development, many investors are still wary in regards of the long-term damage that could have already been done to the euro as a whole. (more…)

The Greece crisis reached new corners of the globe recently with its latest haphazardly turn away from progress. Today Monday June 29th, markets suffered across Asia to Europe in the wake of Greece shutting down its banks for a week, ahead of a debt default that now seems more probable than ever.

Oil prices saw a sharp drop and the Euro declined against the dollar, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 index fell 2% to 20,283.98 points.
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Following an ease of momentum concerning the Euro-Zone data, online forex trading has slowed down for the second week of June. On the back of a promising first week of the month, the fears of a possible default on payments from the Greek government and a Euro-Zone exit have resurfaced after negotiations in Brussels broke down.