Consumer Sentiment Curbs Appeal of Aussie

Australian dollarThe Australian dollar resumed its movement down after the yesterday’s gains as consumer sentiment declined this month, reducing attractiveness of the nation’s currency.

The Westpac-Melbourne Institute Consumer Sentiment index fell 3.5 percent in August from July. This declined followed the drop by 8.3 percent in July. The Aussie (the nickname of the Australian currency) also weakened as the pledge of the Federal Reserve to keep interest rates stable hasn’t reduced pessimism among Forex traders.

AUD/USD retreated from 1.0353 to 1.0343 as of 11:51 GMT after jumping to 1.0414 today. AUD/JPY fell from 79.66 to 79.15, following the advance to 80.34.

If you have any questions, comments or opinions regarding the Australian Dollar, feel free to post them using the commentary form below.

Earlier News About the Australian Dollar:

Australian Dollar Attempts Stop Decline, Fails (2011-08-09)

Eighth Session of Suffering for Aussie (2011-08-08)

AUD Down on Economic Outlook Revision (2011-08-05)

Australian Dollar Continues Its Correction on Weak Retail Sales (2011-08-03)

AUD Surges Against Everything on Higher Inflation Numbers (2011-07-27)

This entry was posted on TopForexNews on Wednesday, August 10th, 2011 at 11:51 am and is filed under Australian Dollar. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.

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Impact of BoJ Intervention on Yen Wanes

Japanese yenThe Japanese yen jumped against all other most-traded currencies today as traders fled to safety of the yen, fearing the financial problems of the US and Europe.

The Japanese policy makers signaled that they may take steps to curb gains of the currency. In fact, the Bank of Japan already intervened on August 4, but the impact of the move almost waned at present. This situation isn’t unlike the one in Switzerland, where the central bank also fights with appreciation of the nation’s currency and also losing this battle.

USD/JPY fell from 77.74 to 77.04 as of 9:09 GMT today. EUR/JPY went down from 110.23 to 109.74 while it reached the low of 109.09 during the day.

If you have any questions, comments or opinions regarding the Japanese Yen, feel free to post them using the commentary form below.

Earlier News About the Japanese Yen:

    Yen Slumps on BoJ Intervention (2011-08-04)
    Yen Gains on Greece & US Debt Problems (2011-07-28)
    EU Summit Eases Need for Safety, Yen Drops (2011-07-22)
    Second Week of Gains for Yen, Will BOJ Intervene? (2011-07-16)
    Yen Declines as Chinese Economy Grows (2011-07-13)


This entry was posted on TopForexNews on Tuesday, August 9th, 2011 at 9:10 am and is filed under Japanese Yen. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.

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Yen Slumps on BoJ Intervention

Japanese yenThe Japanese yen dropped heavily against everything on the Forex market today, following the currency intervention by the country’s central bank.

The yen declined most notably against the US dollar, demonstrating the biggest daily drop since October 2008. It also fell to the lowest rate against the euro since July 11 and reached the price minimum against the Great Britain pound since July 5.

The Bank of Japan followed the footsteps of the Swiss National Bank and intervened the currency market today, increasing the amounts of yen it purchases in order to hold down the currency appreciation:

    …to enhance monetary easing by increasing the total size of the Asset Purchase Program by about 10 trillion yen2 from about 40 trillion yen to about 50 trillion yen.

The market analysts believe that the success of this measure will depend on how persistent the country’s central bank will be. To keep the yen down, they’ll have to continue with similar measures. One-time event just won’t do it for something as bullish as the Japanese yen.

USD/JPY rose from 76.97 to 79.78 as of 12:37 GMT today, reaching as high as 80.23 (the maximum since July 12) earlier. EUR/JPY went up from 110.54 to 113.09. GBP/JPY advanced from 126.54 to 130.21 today.

If you have any questions, comments or opinions regarding the Japanese Yen, feel free to post them using the commentary form below.

Earlier News About the Japanese Yen:

    Yen Gains on Greece & US Debt Problems (2011-07-28)
    EU Summit Eases Need for Safety, Yen Drops (2011-07-22)
    Second Week of Gains for Yen, Will BOJ Intervene? (2011-07-16)
    Yen Declines as Chinese Economy Grows (2011-07-13)
    Growing China's Economy Saps Demand for Safety of Yen (2011-06-14)


This entry was posted on TopForexNews on Thursday, August 4th, 2011 at 12:39 pm and is filed under Japanese Yen. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allo

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Loonie Declines as Economy Contracts

Canadian DollarThe Canadian dollar fell sharply against all of its major counterparts today, following the unexpected negative GDP report.

The loonie dropped to its July 19 level against the US dollar, the lowest value against the euro since July 8 and slid to March 18 rates against the Japanese yen today. The currency also decreased against the outsider of the day — the Australian dollar.

It’s quite clear that today’s bearish behavior is largely a result of Canadian GDP report that was released by Statistics Canada at 12:30 GMT. It showed a contraction of 0.3 percent in May 2011, which followed a zero change in April this year. The market economists forecasted the May value to be at 0.1 percent, positive.

The analysts also cite the poor US GDP growth as another factor that badly influenced the Canadian dollar (as the Canada’s economy is quite dependent on the one of the United States). Some of them also believe that June figures will be far from good too.

USD/CAD rose from 0.9489 to 0.9562 as of 17:03 GMT today. EUR/CAD went up from 1.3596 to 1.3748, while CAD/JPY dropped from 81.85 to 80.69, reaching low as 80.40 today.

If you have any questions, comments or opinions regarding the Canadian Dollar, feel free to post them using the commentary form below.

Earlier News About the Canadian Dollar:

    CAD Sets New Multi-Year Record on US Crisis Expectations (2011-07-26)
    Canadian Inflation Slows, Loonie Retreats (2011-07-22)
    CAD Reaches Three-Year High vs. USD (2011-07-22)
    BOC Rate Statement Invigorates Loonie (2011-07-19)
    Canadian Dollar Looks More Attractive After EU Stress Tests (2011-07-15)


This entry was posted on TopForexNews on Friday, July 29th, 2011 at 5:06 pm and is filed under Canadian Dollar. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.

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Risk Rally Pushes NZD to Records vs. Dollar

New Zealand dollarThe New Zealand dollar reached a new historical maximum against its North American counterpart and grew against some other world currencies today, as the US debt ceiling agreement spurred demand for high-yielding assets.

The kiwi (which is how the NZD is often called) renewed its historical maximums versus the US dollar and the euro today. It also reached a new high level in more than a year against the Japanese yen.

The global hunger for risk increased significantly as the President Obama announced that the political parties has reached a deal on the US debt ceiling last night. The debt limit will be raised by at least $2.1 trillion (up from the current $14.3 trillion), while the government spending will be cut by about $2.5 trillion over next 10 years. Improved certainty with the future of world’s biggest economy spurred demand for the high-yielding currencies among the Forex traders.

NZD/USD rose from 0.8785 to 0.8822 as of 7:30 GMT after reaching a daily high at 0.8842 today. NZD/JPY went up from 67.99 to 68.42 with a daily maximum at 68.87 — the record level since early May 2010. EUR/NZD fell from 1.6334 to 1.6304.

If you have any questions, comments or opinions regarding the New Zealand Dollar, feel free to post them using the commentary form below.

Earlier News About the New Zealand Dollar:

    New Zealand Economy Expands, NZD/USD Jumps to Record (2011-07-14)
    China's Economy Makes Kiwi More Appealing, NZD/USD at Record (2011-07-13)
    Search for Higher Yield Draw Investors to Kiwi (2011-07-06)
    NZ Dollar Reaches Record vs. US Dollar on Business Confidence (2011-06-30)
    Shrinking Trade Surplus Makes Kiwi Weaker (2011-06-27)

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Sixth Quarter of Gains for Yuan

The Chinese yuan posted the sixth straight quarterly gain on the speculation that China will allow the currency to appreciate faster in order to slow growth of consumer prices.

The People’s Bank of China increased the reference rate for the yuan to 6.4716 per dollar today, allowing the currency to fluctuate 0.5 percent in either side of the target. Li Daokui, the adviser to the central bank, explained the rise of prices in June by higher costs of agricultural products and pork. China Securities Journal said today, citing the State Information Center, the inflation is estimated to be 5.3 percent in the first half of 2011 and about 4.9 percent for the whole year.

USD/CNY traded at 6.4648 today as of 11:22 GMT, fluctuating near its opening rate of 6.4644, after rising as high as 6.4680 and falling as low as 6.4625.

If you have any questions, comments or opinions regarding the Chinese Yuan, feel free to post them using the commentary form below.

Earlier News About the Chinese Yuan:
» Yuan Appreciates Above 6.5 vs. USD for a Short Time (2011-04-29)
» Chinese Yuan Appreciates with Other Asian Currencies (2011-04-02)
» China Allows Yuan Appreciate, Can It Do So? (2011-01-12)
» Yuan Rises Beyond 6.6 per Dollar as China Battles Inflation (2010-12-31)
» Can Yuan's Gains Be Limited by Demands for Slower Appreciation? (2010-12-29)

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