Euro Extends Gains

The euro started off yesterday's trading session on a positive note following a better than expected German Prelim GDP figure which caused the EUR/USD to advance to 1.2868. That being said, the common currency came under pressure later in the day following another failed attempt by Greek politicians to form a new government, virtually guaranteeing new elections will take place next month. As a result, the euro fell as low as $1.2769 during the afternoon sessoin. Turning to today, traders will want to pay attention to the US FOMC Meeting Minutes, set to be released at 18:00 GMT. Any signs that the Federal Reserve is preparing for another round of quantitative easing could result in the greenback turning bearish. Economic News USD - US Manufacturing Data Sends USD/JPY Over 80.00 The ...

Markets eye whether BOE extends its Asset Purchase Program later today; Greece continues to struggle to form new gov't Economic Data (RU) Russia Central Bank (CBR) left Refinancing Rate unchanged at 8.00%, as expected (ID) Indonesia Central Bank left Reference Rate unchanged at 5.75%, as expected (FI) Finland Mar Industrial Production M/M: -1.5% v -0.2%e; Y/Y: -5.7% v -2.2%e (FR) Bank of France Apr Business Sentiment: 95 v 95e (FR) France Mar Industrial Production M/M: -0.9% v -0.6%e; Y/Y: -0.9% v -1.3%e (FR) France Mar Manufacturing Production M/M:+1.4% v -0.2%e; Y/Y: -0.3% v -2.8%e (FR) France Mar Central Govt. Balance: -€29.4B v -€24.2B prior (ES) Spain Mar House transactions Y/Y: -22.7% v -31.8% prior (CZ) Czech Apr CPI M/M: 0.0% v 0.1%e; Y/Y: 3.5% v 3.6%e (CZ) Czech Mar ...

The euro continued to tumble vs. its main currency rivals yesterday, as traders remained cautious about investing in riskier assets due to political uncertainty in the euro-zone. The EUR/USD fell to a fresh three-month low during the afternoon session at 1.2929. Turning to today, traders should be prepared for market volatility, as significant indicators from the UK and US are scheduled to be released. Attention should be given to the UK MPC Rate Statement, followed by the US Trade Balance figure and a speech from Fed Chairman Bernanke. Should any of the news lead to additional pessimism in the global economic recovery, riskier currencies like the euro may fall further. Economic News USD - Safe Haven Dollar Extends Gains amid Euro-Zone Worries A lack of news events yesterday helped the ...

Sunrise Market Commentary - Fixed Income: Core bonds higher at first, but gave back gains in US session - Fears about Greece and Spain continued to boost core bonds, but a rumours, later confirmed, that the EFSF would today disburse a tranche of the Greek bail-out loan triggered some correction and erased part of the German bond gains and almost all of the US ones. Today, the BoE decision on QE may affect overall bond markets. - Currencies: euro extends its trip South as speculation on Greek exit is growing - On Wednesday, trading on global markets was still dominated by negative headlines on Europe. This weighed on the euro. After all, the decline of EUR/USD developed in an orderly way even as several EMU policymakers pondered the option of a Greek exit. Today, the BoE holds ...

Sunrise Market Commentary - Fixed Income ECB can't move global bonds - Global core bonds ended the session unchanged, as initial disappointment that the ECB wasn't more dovish dissipated fast. Today's payrolls are key and might decide whether the 6-week rally is over or has one more leg. Currencies: Major currency cross rates little changed ahead of the payrolls - EUR/USD gained temporarily during the ECB press conference as Draghi was less dovish than some in the market had expected. However, the move was technically insignificant as sentiment on risk remained fragile. Today, the payrolls are the key factor for (currency) trading. Investors might stay cautions on the euro to avoid this weekend's political event risk. The Sunrise Headlines - US Equities dropped for a ...

Sunrise Market Commentary - Fixed Income: German yields set record lows - Depressing April PMI's and unemployment data in the EMU set the tone for a risk off session. Core bonds surged higher and the German Bund future reached a new record high. In the US session, US equities rebounded and triggered profit taking in US treasuries. German bonds stayed near the highs however. - Currencies: Awful EMU PMI data hit the euro - The focus in currency trading shifted from the US to Europe. On Tuesday, EUR/USD declined due to dollar strength in the wake of the ISM release. On Wednesday, an awful set of EMU data triggered a next selling wave. EUR/GBP continues to set new lows, too. We doubt that the Draghi press conference will be able to change the course of events The Sunrise ...

EUR/USD The single currency extends its near-term weakness off 1.3282, yesterday’s high, where short-term rally was limited, just ahead of key barrier at 1.3290/1.3300. Brief consolidation above initial support at 1.3200, was short-lived, as more negative data from Eurozone, increased pressure on that pair. Near-term studies weakened further, as the price broke below 1.3200/1.3172 supports, with immediate focus at 1.3157, 27 Apr low and 1.3138, 50% retracement of 1.2993/1.3282 upleg, ahead of more significant support at 1.3100, 23 Apr low / Fib 61.8%. Previous support at 1.3200, now reverts to initial resistance. Res: 1.3200, 1.3232, 1.3243, 1.3269 Sup: 1.3157, 1.3138, 1.3123, 1.3100 GBP/USD Commences the third leg of reversal from 1.6300, 30 Apr fresh 8-month high, after initial ...

Sunrise Market Commentary Fixed Income: Core bonds off resistance levels A technically inspired correction was supported by positive headlines after the Spanish bill auction (although far less important than tomorrows bond auctions) and strong ZEW data. The Spanish 10-yr yield dropped back below the psychological 6% mark but the threat is far from over. Currencies: euro fails to profit from risk rally On Tuesday, sentiment on global market changed for the better and intra-EMU spreads narrowed. However, EUR/GBP and EUR/USD failed to profit. This suggests that underlying euro weakness persists. Key support levels are still within striking distance. This is especially the case for EUR/GBP. Watch out for the Minutes of the April BoE meeting. The Sunrise Headlines US ...

(Reuters) - The euro dipped against the dollar and European shares inched higher on Thursday as nervousness grew ahead of an Italian debt sale that will gauge whether concerns over Spain are spreading to other debt-laden euro zone nations. Data on industrial production across the euro area, which is likely to show it contracted by 0.3 percent in February, could also reignite fears that weak growth at a time of government austerity measures is undermining efforts to repair the region's finances. Ahead of the Italian auction the euro fell to a low of $1.3102 before recovering to be steady at $1.1315, below a one-week high of $1.3158 struck on Wednesday, and within the $1.3030-$1.3165 range trodden in the past week. "Should the Italian auction disappoint, we could see the euro reverse some ...