Boj May Intervene In The Currency

Fitch cuts Japan's sovereign rating two notches Economic Data (JP) Japan Apr Supermarket Sales Y/Y: --1.9% v -2.4% prior (FI) Finland Apr Unemployment Rate: 8.4% v 8.4%e (DK) Denmark May Consumer Confidence Indicator: 0.4 v 0.6 prior (ZA) South Africa Mar Leading Indicator: 134.5 v 134.4 prior (NL) Netherlands May Consumer Confidence: -38 v -32 prior (NO) Norway Q1 GDP Q/Q: 1.4% v 0.9%e; GDP Mainland Norway Q/Q: 1.1% v 0.9%e (UK) Mar ONS UK House Prices Y/Y: -0.4% v +1.0% prior (UK) Apr Public Finances (PSNCR): -£23.2B v -£6.0Be; Public Sector Net Borrowing: -£18.8B v -£22.8Be; PSNB ex Interventions: -£16.5B v -£20.0Be (UK) Apr CPI M/M: 0.6% v 0.6%e; Y/Y: 3.0% v 3.1%e; Core CPI Y/Y: 2.1% v 2.0%e (UK) Apr RPI M/M: 0.7% v 0.6%e; Y/Y: 3.5% v 3.4%e; Core RPI- Ex Mortgages Y/Y: 3.5% ...

Fundamental Analysis EUR "The ECB should be preparing itself" for "the return of significant financial market tensions" - Silvio Peruzzo, an economist at Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc Spanish "market conditions are not justified," said ECB Executive Board member Benoit Coeure on Wednesday. "Will the ECB intervene? We have an instrument, the securities markets program, which hasn’t been used recently but it still exists." USD "Import prices were certainly a problem for businesses in the last three months, but we’ve seen those pressures ease" - Jacob Oubina, a senior U.S. economist at RBC Capital Markets LLC U.S. import prices increased more than expected in March, 1.3 per cent, reflecting higher fuel costs, the Labor Department said Wednesday. GBP "The unusually warm weather in ...

Safe haven currencies, in particular the Japanese yen, started off the week on a bullish note as investors continued to digest last week's disappointing US Non-Farm Payrolls figure. The US added just 120K jobs last month, significantly below the forecasted 207K. Today, traders will want to note the results of the Japanese Overnight Call Rate and the Bank of Japan (BOJ) Press Conference. Any indication that the BOJ will intervene in the markets to limit yen growth could result in the currency reversing some of its earlier gains. Economic News USD - Jobs Data Continues to Weigh Down USD The dollar extended its bearish trend against the Japanese yen during yesterday's session, as a disappointing US jobs report released last week continues to weigh down on the greenback. The worse than ...

Fundamental Analysis EUR "Spain is facing an economic situation of extreme difficulty" - Mariano Rajoy, Prime Minister of Spain Demand for Spain’s debt tumbled on Wednesday and the nation only sold 2.59 billion euros of bonds, just above the minimum amount it planned. The average yield on five-year bonds rose to 4.319 percent from 3.376 percent the previous month. USD "Demand for Spain’s debt tumbled on Wednesday and the nation only sold 2.59 billion euros of bonds, just above the minimum amount it planned. The average yield on five-year bonds rose to 4.319 percent from 3.376 percent the previous month" - Ryan Sweet, a senior economist at Moody’s Analytics Inc. The number of Americans claiming for unemployment benefits declined slightly to 357 thousand in the week ended March 31 from ...

Japanese yen remains mostly weaker against other currencies today. Japan’s government continues to pressure the Bank of Japan to do what it can to encourage an economic recovery. However, with the yen mostly weaker, especially against the US dollar, the BOJ is unlikely to make any startling policy changes anytime soon. Last month, the BOJ introduced surprise easing with the intent to keep the yen weaker and promote a favorable export situation. Additionally, Japanese officials weren’t afraid to intervene in the currency markets during 2011 in order to weaken the yen. However, efforts to keep the yen weak in order to help economic recovery haven’t been entirely successful. One of the big issues is that higher fuel prices have been a drag on the Japanese economy. Even though the yen has ...

The euro remained under pressure against the US dollar throughout yesterday's trading session, as investors remained cautious regarding Greece's financial situation. The EUR/USD spent much of the day range trading around the 1.3225 level after failing to break above key resistance lines the day before. Today, traders will want to pay attention to the weekly US Unemployment Claims figure. A better than expected result may result in the euro falling further against the greenback. Economic News USD - US Unemployment Claims May Generate Volatility Today The US dollar saw gains virtually across the board yesterday, as the combination of a number of international factors resulted in investors reverting to the greenback. The USD/JPY extended its bullish trend, reaching as high as 80.37 before ...

(Reuters) - The yen hit a seven-month low against the dollar on Wednesday and looked set to remain on the defensive after recent monetary easing from the Bank of Japan, while the euro struggled to make headway against the greenback following Greece's bailout deal. The euro also came under pressure from a euro zone services sector flash PMI survey that fell more than expected to 49.4, below the 50 level that signifies contraction, raising concerns the region may slide into recession. The dollar hit a session peak of 80.30 yen, its highest level since mid-July with traders citing buying by Japanese importers and offshore players. The yen has been under pressure since the BoJ's surprise move to boost its asset buying program last week. Some analysts said the move could mark the end of the ...

(Reuters) - The yen hit a seven-month low against the dollar on Wednesday and looked set to remain on the defensive after recent monetary easing from the Bank of Japan, while the euro struggled to make headway against the greenback following Greece's bailout deal. The single currency also came under pressure from a euro zone services sector flash PMI survey that fell more than expected to 49.4, below the 50 level that signifies contraction, raising concerns the region may slide into recession later in the year. The dollar hit a session high of 80.30 yen, its highest level since mid-July with traders citing buying by Japanese importers and offshore players. The yen has been under pressure since the BoJ's surprise move to boost its asset buying program last week. Some analysts said the ...

Markets are filled with cautious sentiments ahead a report that may show outlook of the world's largest economy advanced last month and American cost of living still bottled up, but the fact is that focus eventually remains on Greece, the debt-throttled nation which looks to have done enough to secure a second bailout. Wall Street is likely set to maintain yesterday's winning streak on Friday, as stock-benchmark futures gained ahead of the market opening. Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained nearly 0.3 percent to 12909 as of 07:23 a.m. EST, whille Standard & Poor's 500 index futures rose 0.22 percent to 1357.8. If truth be told, optimism grew today that Greece has finally done what it takes to culminate seven months of efforts to complete a second bailout, after Greek ...