Chart Closes Below

Fundamental Analysis EUR "The debt crisis is far from over still and I think Spain will be worse before it gets better" - Henrik Drusebjerg, a senior equity strategist at Nordea Bank AB Spain sold 2.54 billion euros of debt dated 2014 and 2022 on Thursday, above the target range of 1.5 to 2.5 billion euros for the auction. USD "Progress in the labor market is not quite as strong as people had hoped, but we are still on a recovery track here" - Scott Brown, chief economist at Raymond James & Associates Inc. The number of Americans claiming for unemployment benefits declined by 2,000 to 386,000 in the week ended April 14 from the week before, said the Department of Labor on Thursday. GBP "Economic data does look like it is showing some stabilization" - Samantha Fitzpatrick, senior ...

Fundamental Analysis EUR "It is looking more and more likely that Spain is going to have some form of a bailout" - Lyn Graham-Taylor, Rabobank strategist Spain's cost of borrowing on the international debt markets breached the level of 6 per cent for 10-year bonds on Monday, mounting pressure on the European Central Bank to conduct new round of bond purchases. USD "There is no sign that higher fuel prices have damaged consumer sentiment and spending" - Jeremy Lawson, a senior U.S. economist at BNP Paribas U.S. month on month retail sales rose by more than expected in March, said the Census Bureau on Monday. Total retail sales increased 0.8 per cent the previous month after increasing 1.0 per cent in February. GBP " is not a universal signal of a housing-market recovery" - Miles ...

The euro took a strongly bearish turn to close out last week, after hitting a two month high against the dollar on Thursday. The downward correction was largely attributed to fresh concerns that Greece may not get a sorely needed bailout it needs to avoid defaulting on its debt. Greek news is once again likely to dominate market sentiment this week. Traders will want to pay particular attention to a meeting on Wednesday of euro-zone finance ministers. Any announcements regarding Greece following the meeting could lead to major market volatility. Economic News USD - Risk Aversion Leads to a Bullish Dollar The US dollar saw gains virtually across the board to close out last week, following negative euro-zone news that caused investors to shift their funds to safe-haven assets like the ...

Fundamental News: Today's highlight; · Fed Chairman Bernanke Testifies. (US, 15:00, GMT) The EUR/USD is trading down at 1.3055 from early 1.3085, having been as low as 1.3028. European trading was a worrisome as investors could not decide what was happening. News from Greece was not promising. Greece failed to agree on new austerity measures across political parties yesterday, a requirement for the proposed bailout to avoid default in March. There was some progress on bank recapitalization. Overcoming the political realities of further austerity after almost 5 years of recession is proving very difficult. There cannot be a new program for Greece unless the conditions of the troika are met,” Merkel said at a joint press conference here with Sarkozy, referring to the European ...

The US dollar closed last week on a bearish note, as it took significant losses against most of its main currency rivals, including the euro and Japanese yen. The dollar began to decline during the middle of the week, following an announcement from the Fed saying that record low US interest rates would likely remain for the next several years. A softer than expected US Advanced GDP figure on Friday only caused the currency to drop further. This week, all eyes will be on the US Non-Farm Payrolls figure. Should the figure come in below expectations, the dollar will likely extend its bearish trend. Economic News USD - USD Looks to Reverse Last Week's Losses Last week's announcement by the Fed that US interest rates would likely remain at their current, near-zero levels until 2014 sent the ...

The euro staged a strong upward correction throughout the day yesterday, as investors shifted focus away from the euro-zone crisis to a recent decision from the US Federal Reserve. The Fed announced earlier in the week that US interest rates would remain at their current levels for at least the next two years. The news brought the EUR/USD to a five-week high, at 1.3175. Today, traders will want to pay attention to the US Advance GDP figure. A positive reading may give the USD a temporary boost to close out the week. Economic News USD - Fed Decision Turns USD Bearish The US dollar turned overwhelmingly bearish throughout yesterday's trading session, following the Fed announcement that US interest rates would remain at their current levels for at least the next two years. The greenback ...

The euro turned bearish once again in trading yesterday, as investors continued to revert back to safe-haven currencies following the rejection of Greece's debt swap deal. Positive manufacturing numbers from much of the euro-zone were shrugged off, as fears of further fallout from the region's debt crisis continue to dominate market sentiment. Today, traders will want to focus on US data, particularly the FOMC Statement, as it is likely to dictate the direction the market takes. Economic News USD - Dollar up Following Increase in Risk Aversion Fresh concerns over the euro-zone debt crisis caused investors to revert back to safe-haven currencies yesterday, which led to the USD climbing vs. most of its main counterparts. Following the rejection of Greece's debt swap deal, concerns began ...

Despite a positive US jobs report on Friday, which would have normally boosted riskier assets like the euro, the common currency maintained its bearish trend to close out the week. The EUR/USD dropped to its lowest level in 15-months, while the EUR/JPY fell to a fresh 11-year low. This week, traders will want to pay attention to several important indicators, notably Thursday's statements from both the European Central Bank and the British Monetary Policy Committee. Economic News USD - US Non-Farm Data Sends USD to 15-Month High vs. Euro The US Non-Farm Payrolls data came in well above expectations on Friday, and managed to boost the US dollar against most of its main currency rivals to close out the week. The EUR/USD ended Friday's session at 1.2718, down well over 300 pips from its ...

Forex News and Events: Mounting tensions in the Persian Gulf continue to worry the market; distracting at least some of the focus away from European debt problems, but certainly not helping risk appetite recover in the new year. As concerns intensify that the stand-off between Iran and the US could turn nasty, worried investors are pushing commodities prices higher, with oil staying well supported above $100 per barrel and the dollar making ground against its major peers. If Iran closes the Strait of Hormuz or the situation escalates further, then oil prices are likely to rocket skywards, and both the dollar and gold could surge higher on safe-haven flows. The next key targets in gold are $1642 (21 Dec high) and $1678 (13 Dec high), but if the market hits panic mode then we could easily ...