Canadian Dollar Advances as Current-Account Deficit Narrows

The Canadian dollar advanced today against its US peer as the nation’s current-account deficit shrank last quarter, adding to speculations that the central bank may raise interest rate in the future.
The currency declined versus the euro. The Canadian current-account shortage narrowed by C$0.5 billion to C$14.1 billion in the first quarter of 2013. Analysts have expected an increase. The positive data added to evidences that the Bank of Canada can withdraw some stimulus without hurting the

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Franc Rises as GDP Growth Beats Expectations

The Swiss franc rose today as economic growth in Switzerland exceed analysts’ expectations, attracting investors to the nation’s assets and supporting the currency’s role as a safe haven. Swiss gross domestic product expanded 0.6 percent in the first quarter of 2013 from the previous three months.

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Aussie Drops with China’s Manufacturing

The Australian dollar slumped today, reaching the lowest level in a year against the US dollar, as China’s manufacturing contracted this month and the US Federal Reserve hinted that quantitative easing may be reduced.

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Franc Drops as Jordan Speaks on Negative Interest Rates & Franc Cap

The Swiss franc dropped today as Swiss National Bank President Thomas Jordan talked about possibility of negative interest rates and shifting of the cap on the franc. Jordan warned about negative consequences of a strong currency: An appreciation of the franc would endanger price stability and have structurally grave consequences for the Swiss economy. He also spoke about changing the franc’s ceiling:

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Loonie Falls as Oil Drops and Fed Considers Reduced Easing

Canadian dollar is losing ground today, dropping as the the US Federal Reserve considers reducing its economic stimulus efforts. It’s also not helping the loonie that oil prices are dropping again. Dollar strength is the story across the board today, and that is affecting the loonie as well.
The news that the Federal Reserve might reduce its quantitative easing program is contributing to dollar strength today, and the Canadian dollar is following those flows. With the dollar stronger, commodities are struggling. Oil prices are lower today, and that affects the loonie as well. Oil is

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UK Inflation Slows, Pound Weakens

The Great Britain pound weakened today after data showed that inflation slowed last quarter more than was predicted by analysts, reigniting concerns about the UK economy. The Consumer Price Index rose 2.4 percent in the first three months of 2013 from a year ago, slowing from the growth of 2.8 percent in the fourth quarter of 2012. The median forecast was at 2.6 percent. Other reports today were also negative, spoiling optimism caused by the previous macroeconomic data.

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AUD/USD Falls After RBA Minutes, Losses Limited

The Australian dollar fell against its US peer today after the Reserve Bank of Australia released the minutes of its last policy meeting.
The drop was small, however, and the currency gained against the Japanese yen at the same time. The RBA minutes were dovish and said: Conditions in the business sector, as assessed in surveys, generally had remained below average, possibly in part because the exchange rate had remained high despite lower export prices and interest rates. Policy makers also thought that “the inflation outlook provided scope to ease monetary policy further, should that be necessary to support demand”. All in

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Taiwan Dollar Attractive for Investors

The Taiwan dollar gained today on signs that nation’s assets were attractive to overseas investors, leading to inflows of foreign funds, and as politicians were planning to review taxes on capital gains. Speculators have bought $996 million more Taiwanese shares than they sold by the end of last week, and this year’s net purchases totaled $4.8 billion. Deputy Finance Minister Tseng Ming-Chung said that the government will form a committee to review the levies that were implemented last year.

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Chilean Peso Drops vs. Dollar even as Monetary Policy Remains Stable

The Chilean peso weakened today against the US dollar even though the central bank refrained from cutting interest rates yesterday. The currency advanced versus the euro. The Central Bank of Chile kept its main interest rate at 5 percent.
The central bank said in the statement that “international financial conditions show some

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Yen Rebound on Concerns Weak Currency Can Hurt Economy

The Japanese yen gained today as politicians were worried that the excessive drop of the currency may be not that beneficial for the country and may actually hurt the economy. Japanese Economy Minister Akira Amari said that “excessive yen gains have been corrected a lot”. He voiced concern that further depreciation can make negative impact on Japanese consumers.

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Speculations About End of QE Pushes Dollar Upward

This week was relatively quiet in terms of news, though some important macroeconomic reports were released. Meanwhile, the US dollar was rising against other most-traded currencies and the Dollar Index surged to the highest level in almost three years. As was expected, the dollar managed to rally despite possible obstacles. The major driver of the gains was speculation that the Federal Reserve will end its quantitative easing program.

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Canadian Dollar Slumps as Inflation Decelerates

The Canadian dollar slumped today, touching the lowest level since March against its US peer, as inflation slowed last month, decreasing probability of an interest rate hike from the Bank of Canada. The Consumer Price Index rose 0.4 percent in April from a year ago. It was the slowest growth since October 2009. Consumer prices fell 0.2 percent, month-on-month.

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Political Infighting Takes Toll on Euro

Disagreement over the vision of the eurozone is starting to take its toll on the euro. Lack of unified leadership at a time of economic difficult and continued sovereign debt crisis is contributing to the euro hitting a six week low in earlier trading. French President Francois Hollande is once again pressing for greater integration in the eurozone, and the ECB has been announced as the bank supervisor for the eurozone.

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US Dollar Strengthens on Federal Reserve Comments

US dollar is heading higher today, surging on the latest news from the Federal Reserve. Comments about the Fed’s quantitive easing program — and its potential end this year — are lending strength to the greenback. The President of the San Francisco Federal Reserve, John Williams, made comments indicating that the current quantitative easing program might end this year.

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Polish Zloty Drops as Inflation Slows

The Polish zloty weakened today as negative fundamentals, including slowing inflation, spurred speculations that the central bank will cut interest rates yet again.
The Consumer Price Index rose 0.8 percent in April from a year ago, the slowest rate of growth since June 2006. It was the seventh straight month of slowing inflation. The current-account deficit was at €200 million in March, more than double the analysts forecast. The National Bank of Poland

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Swiss Franc Gains Despite Falling Economic Expectations

The Swiss franc gained yesterday and remained little-changed today against the US dollar and the euro even as economic expectations were worsening. The currency traded sideways versus the Japanese yen.
The ZEW-CS Indicator of economic expectations for Switzerland sank as much as 17.8 points to 2.2 in May. The report said that “last month’s significant gains are lost and the indicator falls back to the level of March 2013″. Meanwhile, the Swiss Producer Price Index ticked up 0.2 percent in April. Fritz Zurbruegg, Member of the Swiss National Bank Governing Board, said in an interview to

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CAD Gains vs. USD & EUR on Economic Data, Flat vs. JPY

The Canadian dollar gained against the euro and the US dollar as macroeconomic data from the eurozone and the United States was bad. The currency was flat versus the Japanese yen. US industrial production fell 0.5 percent in April after rising 0.3 percent in March. The Producer Price Index edged down 0.7 percent last month.

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Stronger US Dollar Pushes Gold Prices Lower

The US dollar index is higher today, gaining ground as the greenback shows improvement against the euro. Even though the dollar is lower against some currencies,
the greenback is showing overall strength, and that is pushing commodities like gold lower. Greenback is showing solid strength today, thanks in large part to the relative recovery of the US economy. Against the euro, especially following the latest GDP data out of Germany and France, the dollar is heading higher. Euro weakness is providing a boost to the dollar index, and the dollar is also getting help from a weak yen. US dollar is lower against the UK pound, though. The latest forecast from the BOE indicates that things might be picking up for the UK economy. The speculation over

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UK Pound Gets Boost from BOE Outlook

UK pound is gaining ground today, heading higher as the latest BOE economic outlook provides some hope for growth. Sterling is on the rise against most of its major counterparts due to the enthusiasm and expectations for the rest of the year. The Bank of England released its quarterly inflation report, and forecast that growth may increase to 0.5 per cent this quarter.
This represents an increase from the 0.3 per cent growth seen last quater. On top of that, it appears that jobless claims in the United Kingdom have fallen. As a result of this somewhat positive news, the UK pound is on the rise. Hopes for an improving economy, and expectations that the United

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Intervention Concerns Push Won Lower

The South Korean won declined today on speculations that the weakness of the Japanese yen will prompt nation’s policy makers to intervene in an attempt to push the
exchange rate lower. Japan’s aggressive monetary policy worries other Asian nation and encourages them to intervene too. Bank of Korea Governor Kim Choong Soo said that it will have a ”big impact” on the South Korean economy. Policy makers surprised Forex market participants last week,

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Canadian Dollar Maintains Decline amid Concerns for Economic Growth

The Canadian dollar demonstrated a big drop against its US counterpart yesterday and continued to fall today on concerns that Canada’s economic growth will trail that of the United States.
The currency was also weak against other majors, including the euro and the yen. The US economy is expected to expand 2 percent in 2013. At the same time, analysts believe that the Canadian economy will grow just 1.6 percent. Such outlook was not very supportive for the loonie. Yesterday’s drop of crude oil did not help the currency either. Not all economists are concerned about the loonie’s drop. The currency was rising previously and some specialists believe that the rally may resume after a small correction. USD/CAD rose from 1.0178 to 1.0186 and EUR/CAD advanced from 1.3149 to 1.3174 as of 1:31 GMT today. CAD/JPY went down from 100.56 to 100.23. If you have any questions, comments or opinions regarding the Canadian Dollar, feel free to post them using the commentary form below.

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Aussie Soft After Budget Forecast

The Australian dollar was soft today after the government forecast that economic growth will slow in the next financial year, adding reasons for the central bank to cut interest rates further. The Australia Treasury revealed the budget for the 2013–14 financial year today. It predicted that growth of real gross domestic product will slow to 2.75 percent from the
current year’s 3 percent. Unemployment is projected to edge up from 5.5 percent to 5.75 percent. The Consumer Price Index may grow 2.25 percent in the next financial year, slower than this year’s 2.5 percent. The predictions add incentive for the Bank of Australia to ease its monetary policy even

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Euro Drops as Germany and the ECB Disagree

The euro’s struggles against the US dollar continue today, with Germany and the ECB disagreeing on the next policy move. Euro has managed to make up some lost ground, though, paring its earlier losses as risk appetite rises on better equity performances. However, with commodities lower, the euro isn’t likely to find too much support. Right now, some major disagreements over policy for the eurozone are emerging between Germany and the European Central Bank.
The ECB is prepared to take more steps to ease the monetary policy, while Germany, led by Chancellor Angela Merkel, has expressed concern over the continued stimulus measures. Germany is ready to see tighter monetary policy in the eurozone. Normally, Germany’s opinion carries a great deal of weight. As the largest economy in the eurozone, and a leader in politics and economics, Germany matters. However, the ECB feels strongly about this, and that is leading the body to go it alone if need be. Also not helping the situation for the euro is the lower commodities prices. Gold and oil are both lower, and not able to provide support to the ailing euro. At 14:09 GMT EUR/USD is down to 1.2973 from the open at 1.2975, and off the session low of 1.2946. EUR/GBP is up to 0.8504 from the open at 0.8480. EUR/JPY is down to 132.0155 from the open at 132.1250. If you have any questions, comments or opinions regarding the Euro, feel free to post them using the commentary form below. http://www.topforexnews.com/

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Aussie Soft After Budget Forecast

The Australian dollar was soft today after the government forecast that economic growth will slow in the next financial year, adding reasons for the central bank to cut interest rates further. The Australia Treasury revealed the budget for the 2013–14 financial year today. It predicted that growth of real gross domestic product will slow to 2.75 percent from the current year’s 3 percent. Unemployment is projected to edge up from 5.5 percent to 5.75 percent. The Consumer Price Index may grow 2.25 percent in the next financial year, slower than this year’s 2.5 percent. The

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Canadian Dollar Maintains Decline amid Concerns for Economic Growth

The Canadian dollar demonstrated a big drop against its US counterpart yesterday and continued to fall today on concerns that Canada’s economic growth will trail that of the United States. The currency was also weak against other majors, including the euro and the yen. The US economy is expected to expand 2 percent in 2013. At the same time,

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Israeli New Shekel Mixed After Bank of Israel Cuts Interest Rates

The Bank of Israel made an unexpected move yesterday, cutting its benchmark interest rate. The Israeli new shekel dropped versus the euro today, but rose against the US dollar. The central bank cut its main interest rate by 0.25 percentage points to 1.5 percent.

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US Retail Sales Boost Canadian Dollar

The positive retail sales report from the United States boosted not only the US dollar, but the Canadian dollar as well. The loonie managed to outperform most of the major currencies. US retail sales rose 0.1 percent in April from March when they fell 0.5 percent. It was a nice surprise to market participants, who have expected a drop by 0.3 percent. The USA is Canada’s major trading partner, therefore good US fundamentals are favorable for the Canadian currency.
The loonie’s rally was not big though as futures for crude oil, the biggest Canadian export, fell. Crude dropped 1.1 percent to $95.01 per barrel in New York today. USD/CAD went down from 1.0115 to 1.0101 as of 23:51 GMT today. EUR/CAD was little changed at 1.3115 after falling to 1.3067. CAD/JPY was up from 100.44 to 100.63. If you have any questions, comments or opinions regarding the Canadian Dollar, feel free to post them using the commentary form below.

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Euro Struggles on Continued Recession Worries

Euro is struggling today, changing between gains and losses against the US dollar, and finding it difficult to gain solid traction against other major currencies. Worries about recession continue to weigh on the 17-nation currency. Later this week, the latest eurozone GDP data is supposed to be released a little later this week. There are expectations that, once again, a quarterly drop in GDP will be evident. A drop of 0.1 per cent may not seem like much,

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US Dollar Mostly Rangebound as Traders Look for Direction

US dollar is mostly rangebound today, turning in a mixed performance as traders look for direction and speculation about what’s next for the Federal Reserve raises questions about what’s next.
US dollar is mixed today, thanks in large part to speculation about what’s next from the Federal Reserve in terms of economic stimulus and exit from quantitative easing measures. Recent economic data showed an increase of 0.1 per cent in retail sales for April, indicating that the US economy is recovering. Add to that the encouraging employment data recently released, and it appears as though the economy might be on the right track. If the economy is improving, though, that means that the Fed could decide to exit its stimulus plan, and that might mean a strengthening US dollar. However, that course of action is far from set in stone. Indeed, there are questions about whether or not the

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RBA Rate Cut Makes Week Bad for Aussie

This was definitely not good for the Australian dollar as the nation’s central bank unexpectedly reduced its interest rates and hinted that more rate cuts are possible. The Reserve Bank of Australia surprised the Forex market, easing its monetary policy further even though analysts have predicted that the bank would not make any changes. Moreover, the central bank said that it has scope for additional easing.

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Norwegian Krone Rallies with Accelerating Inflation, Retreats

The Norwegian krone rallied today as inflation accelerated more than analysts have expected, reducing incentive for the central bank to cut interest rates.
The currency retreated and trades below the opening level as of now. The Consumer Price Index, adjusted for taxes and energy prices, rose from 0.9 percent in March to 1.5 percent in April on an

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US Dollar Strengthens on Unexpected Jobless Claims Data

US dollar is showing strength today, heading higher as Forex traders look to the improving economic situation. When compared to other economies, the US economy is looking pretty good, and that is helping the greenback against its major counterparts today. The latest initial unemployment claims data in the United States indicates that 4,000 fewer people are applying for aid. Even with the budget sequester on, the economy appears to be improving for now.

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Canadian Employment Trails Forecasts, CAD Loses to USD

Canadian employment growth was below forecasts, making the Canadian dollar close lower against its US peer. At the same time, the currency closed flat against the euro and higher versus the Japanese yen. Canadian employers added 12,500 jobs in April from March, when employment shrank as much as 54,500.

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Yen Drops, USD/JPY Advances Above 101 Mark

The Japanese fell today against all other most-traded currencies and dropped below the 101 per dollar level on positive data from the United States and signs that Japanese investors buy foreign bonds. The US federal budget balance turned from the deficit of $106.5 billion in March to the surplus of $112.9 in April. The excess was above the analysts forecast of $108.3 billion.
The government data showed that Japanese investors boosted their holdings of overseas bonds. Experts explained that aggressive monetary easing from the Bank of Japan made speculators seek profit outside of Japan. The data from Commodity Futures Trading Commission showed that future traders increased their short positions on the yen. With extensive stimulus measures from the BoJ and absence of need for safety the currency has no choice but go down. USD/JPY went up from 100.57 to 101.97 (the highest price since October 2008) intraday and closed at 101.57. EUR/JPY advanced from 131.15 to 131.89. GBP/JPY ticked up from 155.35 to 156.00, while its daily high was at 156.65. If you have any questions, comments or opinions regarding the Japanese Yen, feel free to post them using the commentary form below.

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Canadian Dollar Weakens with Other Commodity Currencies

Canadian dollar is heading lower today, dropping along with other commodity currencies. With commodities plunging, it is little surprise that currencies like the loonie are losing ground today. Commodity currencies are struggling today as gold and oil drop in trading. The Canadian dollar is losing ground along with other commodity currencies. Oil, a major export for Canada, and a major support for the loonie, is down more than two dollars a barrel today. As a result, the Canadian dollar is dropping against the US dollar and other major counterparts. It’s also not helping

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