Traded
The Hungarian forint advanced today, breaking the level above which Goldman Sachs recommended their customers to close sell positions. The breakout added to the upward momentum of the currency.
Goldman predicted last month that the forint would fall and recommended that clients to close positions if the currency appreciates beyond the 290 per euro level. The forint was rallying as the Hungarian economy expanded 0.7 percent in the first quarter of 2013 from the previous three months, demonstrating the first quarterly growth in more than a year. The forint has rallied 5.3 percent in the second quarter, the best performance among the most-traded currencies.
USD/HUF went down from 224.3300 to 223.7900 as of 10:39 GMT today. EUR/HUF declined from 289.6500 to 289.3350, reaching the low of 288. ...
Japanese yen traded today without any noticeable changes in its rates after the BOJ’s meeting, where the Bank of Japans decided to refrain from adding stimulus with keeping the previous monetary base in order to reach the targeted 2% inflation.
Form another side, Japanese yen’s movements ignored the current incline in 5-yearr governmental bonds.
Japanese yen showed downward trend versus dollar and other major currencies, where investors are still monitoring the market before investing in yen.
USD/JPY pair recorded its highest today at 102.63 after starting today’s session t 102.42, while the EUR/JPY pair inclined to record its highest in week at 132.67.
Australian dollar noticeably declined today versus its counterpart American dollar after the recent fall in Australian consumer ...
The Australian dollar fell against its US peer today after the Reserve Bank of Australia released the minutes of its last policy meeting. The drop was small, however, and the currency gained against the Japanese yen at the same time.
The RBA minutes were dovish and said:
Conditions in the business sector, as assessed in surveys, generally had remained below average, possibly in part because the exchange rate had remained high despite lower export prices and interest rates.
Policy makers also thought that “the inflation outlook provided scope to ease monetary policy further, should that be necessary to support demand”. All in all, the minutes were negative for the Aussie, but the currency did not look bothered too much by them, most likely because anticipation of additional stimulus ...
Japanese yen back to losses versus major currencies before the upcoming board meeting of the Bank of Japan, where the yen tried earlier to incline after the economy minister’s speech.
Moreover, Japanese economy minister Akira Amari warns from further decline in the yen, adding that further slide in the yen may leave negative impact after the recent 21% drop during the previous six months.
USD/JPY pair traded today near 102.50 after recording high of 102.75, while the EUR/JPY pair inclined to 132.29. GBP/JPY pair inclined to 156.50.
Australian dollar continue to incline versus dollar and other currencies in attempts to compensate its previous huge loses, while RBA released today its May’s meeting minutes which saw rate reduction to 2.75%.
AUD/USD pair inclined to 0.9831 after starting ...
Asian Market Update
JPY weakens after Japan Econ Min Amari clarifies position on yen correction; AUD gains on neutral policy bias in RBA minutes
Economic Data
(AU) AUSTRALIA RBA POLICY MINUTES FOR MAY MEETING: Decided some easing scope should be used at the May meeting
(AU) AUSTRALIA MAR CONFERENCE BOARD LEADING INDEX: 0.1% V 0.3% PRIOR (3rd consecutive increase)
(NZ) NEW ZEALAND Q2 RBNZ 2-YEAR INFLATION EXPECTATION: 2.1% V 2.2% PRIOR (multi-year low)
(NZ) NEW ZEALAND APR CREDIT CARD SPENDING M/M: +0.4% V -0.3% PRIOR; Y/Y: 4.0% V 3.7% PRIOR
(NZ) NEW ZEALAND APR NET MIGRATION: 1.6K V 1.3K PRIOR
Markets Snapshot (as of 03:30 GMT)
Nikkei225 +0.1%
S&P/ASX -0.7%
Kospi -0.2%
Shanghai Composite -0.1%
Hang Seng -0.4%
Jun S&P500 -0.1% at 1,663
Jun gold +0.3% at $1,384/oz
Jul crude ...
The dollar gave up some of its recent gains against other major currencies on Monday amid bets the Federal Reserve will slow its stimulus program on signs the world’s biggest economy is accelerating.
Dallas Federal Reserve’s President Richard Fisher told CNBC reporters earlier that a scale back for the Fed’s monthly $85 billion in bond purchases should be the key, as halting it would be “too violent for the market.”
Fishers comment came days after the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco’s President John Williams said that quickening economic growth and an improving labor market may prompt the central bank to start pulling its $85 billion of monthly bond purchases by summer.
The U.S. dollar extended gains after Williams commented that quickening economic growth and gains in the labor ...
European Market Update
Whit Monday holiday has Europe on the sidelines
Notes/Observations
Nikkei225 index trades higher than the US Dow Industrial 30 index for the first time since May 2010
Ceasefire in the currency war ??? Japan Econ MIn Amari suggesting that excessive gains have already been corrected by a large amount and any further weakness could actually become a detriment
Short-range North Korea missile launch into the Sea of Japan this weekend
China property sector retained its allure despite the govt steps to curb housing inflation. April property prices across 70 cities rose 4.9% y/y - the biggest increase since Apr 2011
European market participation light die to Whit Monday holiday (Pentecost)
Economic Data
(JP) Japan Mar Final Leading Index CI: 97.9 v 97.6 prelim; ...
The Japanese yen gained today as politicians were worried that the excessive drop of the currency may be not that beneficial for the country and may actually hurt the economy.
Japanese Economy Minister Akira Amari said that “excessive yen gains have been corrected a lot”. He voiced concern that further depreciation can make negative impact on Japanese consumers. The yen gained on the news, but the rally was limited and the currency may yet lose its gains.
USD/JPY was down from 102.74 to 102.56 as of 7:42 GMT today after touching the low of 101.92. EUR/JPY traded at 131.94 after falling from 131.94 to 130.91.
Gold extended losses on Monday trading session, falling for the eighth straight session to its weakest in a month on fears that the U.S. Federal Reserve may wind back its monthly bond purchases from the third quarter.
Gold dropped sharply on Monday after some Federal Reserve officials said the central bank should end its stimulus for the U.S. economy, slashing gold’s appeal as a hedge against inflation.
As of (09:20 GMT+3) gold for immediate delivery slumped 1.60 percent or 21.82 points to trade at $1,344.46 after opening at $1,362.79, having earlier hit a low of $1,338.49, and a high of $1,365.36.
Reserve Bank of San Francisco President John Williams said on Thursday the Fed’s may begin slowing the pace of its $85 billion in monthly bond-buying amid signs the economy is gradually ...