Fx Analyst Krishna

(Reuters) - The euro hovered just above its 22-month low against the dollar on Thursday and remained vulnerable to further declines as the prospect of a Greek exit from the euro zone kept investors on tenterhooks. The euro eased 0.1 percent to $1.2575. It fell to about $1.2545 the previous day, its lowest level since July 2010. That level should provide initial support, followed by $1.2500. The euro drew little comfort from an informal summit of European Union leaders that shed no new light on how the euro zone nations intend to tackle its debt crisis, including the threat of Greece's exit from euro. "It's still hard to see what the endgame will be like," said a trader at a Japanese bank in Tokyo. European Union leaders urged Greece to stay the course on austerity and complete the ...

(Reuters) - Shares, precious metals and oil fell and the euro remained pressured on Wednesday as Greece struggled to form a government after an election that saw incumbent parties punished, heightening the risk that a hard-won bailout deal could be scrapped. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS shed 1.4 percent to its lowest in more than three months, with energy .MIAPJEN00PUS, materials .MIAPJMT00PUS and growth sensitive industrials .MIAPJIN00PUS leading the declines. Resources-heavy Australian shares .AXJO plunged 1 percent to a three-week low as oil, precious metals and copper slid. European shares will likely edge up after a mauling on Tuesday, with financial spreadbetters predicting that major European markets .FTSE .FCHI .GDAXI would open 0.6 ...

(Reuters) - The safe-haven yen pulled away from multi-week peaks against major currencies on Thursday after the European Central Bank official hinted at the possibility of more bond-buying, but an upcoming Italian debt sale posed more risks to jittery markets. The Australian dollar shot up more than half a percent against the dollar and the yen after unexpectedly strong local employment figures eased worries the Australian economy could suffer from slower global growth. Traders took profits on the Japanese unit which gained the previous session as riskier assets remained pressured with the euro zone debt woes back in focus and Spanish bond yields still close to a four-month high and the crucial six percent level. The yen eased 0.1 percent helping the dollar climb back to 80.90 yen, up ...

(Reuters) - The yen hit multi-week highs against major currencies while the risk-sensitive Australian dollar floundered to a three-month low against the U.S. dollar on Wednesday as worries about global growth rose. A jump in Spanish bond yields exacerbated concerns about the fragility of peripheral euro zone economies in a market already hurt by last week's disappointing U.S. job report and soft reading on Chinese imports. Coupled with a big fall on Wall Street, which could induce more repatriation by Japanese investors, the yen climbed across the board, hitting a five-week high against the U.S. dollar before expectations of fresh easing by the Bank of Japan pushed it back a bit. The dollar fell to 80.60 yen but crept back to around 80.85 yen, having managed to hold above an important ...

(Reuters) - The yen stayed on the defensive on Monday with the euro reaching a fresh five-month high against the Japanese currency, while the dollar nursed losses following a setback late last week. The euro rose as high as 110.15 yen at one point on trading platform EBS, its highest level since late October. It later pared its gains and was last changing hands at 109.81 yen, down 0.1 percent from late U.S. trade on Friday. In another sign of the yen's recent weakness, the Australian dollar rose to 88.62 yen, its highest level since May 2011. The Australian dollar last stood at 88.37 yen, up 0.1 percent from late U.S. trade on Friday. The yen's status as the currency of choice in funding carry trades was cemented last month after a surprise easing by the Bank of Japan. Additionally, ...

(Reuters) - The rally in the dollar took a bit of a breather on Friday as traders booked profits on recent chunky gains ahead of key resistance levels, but the greenback's rally was seen intact in line with a brightening U.S. economic outlook. The dollar stood at 83.47 yen, having retreated from an 11-month peak of 84.19 hit on Thursday. Traders said some selling kicked in after the pair gained 1.2 percent this week and as it approached the 2011 high of 85.53. "People are taking profits after huge gains this week made as the last group of hedge funds and other investors went dollar long," said Minori Uchida, a senior analyst at Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi UFJ. Uchida added these investors were likely the last ones to join the rally, prompted to pile in by a spike in U.S. bond yields ...

(Reuters) - Asian shares rose on Wednesday as upbeat U.S. economic data plus signs of improving capital positions at big American banks stoked appetites for risk, while reduced expectations for more monetary easing by the Federal Reserve underpinned the dollar. The dollar eased from a seven-week high against a basket of major currencies of 80.320 .DXY hit on Tuesday, but touched a fresh 11-month high of 83.28 yen. A brighter economic outlook hoisted U.S. equities to multi-year highs, with the Standard & Poor's 500 Index .SPX closing at its highest level since June 2008, while the Dow Jones industrial average ended at its loftiest since December 2007. Shares in Asia started robustly on Wednesday, though gains were later pared. The MSCI Asia Pacific ex-Japan index .MIAPJ0000PUS, carrying ...

(Reuters) - Medium-sized U.S. oil and natural gas producers forecast higher production for this year, with some of them set to outspend their cash flows, when many of their bigger rivals are cutting output citing decade-low gas prices. Natural gas prices, which traded at $11 per million British thermal units (mmBtu) levels three years ago, are now languishing at $2.67, as production from unconventional shale fields flood the market. The glut has prompted top companies such as Chesapeake Energy (CHK.N) and Encana Corp (ECA.TO) to cut their gas output and arrest a steep fall in their share price. Smaller companies such as Bill Barrett Corp (BBG.N), meanwhile, are banking on hedging to make up for weak prices. "We are well positioned to meet the challenges of 2012 with approximately 62 ...

(Reuters) - The euro hit a fresh two-month high versus the dollar on Wednesday, supported by hopes that Greece may soon agree to austerity steps needed to secure a second bailout and avoid a disorderly default. The single currency also hit a seven-week peak against the yen, its rise gaining steam due to stop-loss buying. The yen retreated broadly on the crosses, with traders saying the technical outlook for cross/yen pairs had improved after their recent breach of some technical resistance levels. The euro surged 0.5 percent against the yen to 102.30 yen. It rose as high as 102.44 yen at one point on trading platform EBS, the euro's highest level versus the Japanese currency in about seven weeks. The single currency rose 0.2 percent versus the dollar to $1.3281, having touched a two- ...