January 2013 FX News

Aussie dollar hit hard by rate cut rumours 30 Jan at 5 AM The Australian dollar has slumped to its lowest level in more than five years. This is because investors are betting the Reserve Bank of Australia will introduce a cut in interest rates. The Aussie shed 2 per cent on Thursday to fall to $0.7757.

Earlier the currency fell as low as $0.7720, a low not witnessed since the middle of...

Yen rebounds against dollar 21 Jan at 7 AM An announcement by the Bank of Japan that it will not be increasing its bond-buying programme saw the yen bounce back against the dollar. Because of the current slump in the price of oil the central bank also dropped its inflation forecast from 1.7 per cent to 1.0 per cent.

After pushing as high as 118.87 yen ahead of...

US dollar hit by poor retail sales 15 Jan at 5 AM A significant fall in retail sales in the US has put pressure on the dollar. The disappointing data now makes it more likely that the Federal Reserve will push its introduction of a hike in interest rates. Many analysts believed the rise would come in June.

Although the dollar is currently trading at 117.33 yen, it earlier...

Drop in oil prices boosts the yen 6 Jan at 10 AM Concerns about another dip in oil prices and the general state of the global economy has created investor risk aversion and given a boost to the safe-haven yen.

The euro is currently hovering around its lowest level in nearly nine years as analysts worry the eurozone is headed for further deflation. The European Central Bank has...

Dollar up against the euro 3 Jan at 5 AM The dollar has hit a four-and-a-half year high against the euro. Comments by Mario Draghi, head of the European Central Bank, have also helped to push the dollar to parity with the Swiss franc. It is likely that over the course of this year the central bank will introduce further measures to stimulate the economy.

The euro is...

Dollar falls as emerging market currencies suffer 27 Jan at 8 AM The dollar has dropped to its lowest level since the beginning of December against its Japanese rival as investors bet on the safe haven yen. The greenback is down 0.3 per cent to 101.77 yen, a seven-week trough.

The dollar has been hit by a sell-off of emerging market currencies. Argentine and Turkish currencies were binned last...

Yen drops against euro and greenback 22 Jan at 8 AM The yen is weaker against the euro and the dollar as investors wait for the results of a Bank of Japan policy meeting. Analysts are expecting the central bank to hold off on any further easing until the effects of last April’s hike in sales tax are fully evident.

The euro has risen from 140.33, its lowest level in six weeks, to...

Dollar drops on soft jobs data 13 Jan at 8 AM Surprisingly soft jobs data coming out of the US has caused the dollar to drop to its lowest level against the yen in nearly four weeks. The figures have caused some analysts to question how quickly the Federal Reserve will now be able to scale back its massive stimulus operation.

The greenback is 0.6 per cent down against its...

Dollar supported by positive jobs data 9 Jan at 9 AM The publication of Federal Reserve meeting minutes for last month indicate that the central bank is serious about gradually winding down its economic stimulus programme. This has helped to support gains made by the dollar recently. In December the Fed announced that it would be reducing its $85 billion bond buying each month by $10...

Australian dollar down against US dollar and euro 2 Jan at 8 AM The Australian dollar has fallen against its US counterpart. The Aussie is currently trading down 0.39 per cent at $0.8889. Also down against the yen and the euro the Aussie is currently worth 93.67 yen, a fall of 0.28 per cent, and the single currency is up 0.36 per cent to 1.5472.

The drop in the value of the Aussie comes after...

Foreign exchange trading boosted 30 Jan at 12 PM Encouraging data linked to the financial state of the eurozone has seen more investors return to forex trading. So far this year the UK pound and the Swiss franc have been popular trades.

Euro short positions were closed by many investors following an announcement by the European Central Bank this month that it will be holding...

Yen gains after weaker than expected announcement by BOJ 23 Jan at 9 AM The yen has risen against the dollar as monetary easing plans announced by the Bank of Japan fell short of analyst’s expectations. New Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has said he wants the central bank to implement drastic measures to bring Japan’s ailing economy out of recession.

Although the announcement was seen by many as...

Euro dips after Juncker warning 16 Jan at 9 AM The euro has fallen against the yen and the dollar following comments by Jean-Claude Juncker, chairman of Europe’s finance ministers, that the single currency is dangerously high. The euro fell 0.6 per cent against the Japanese currency to 117.28 yen. However, traders are confident that the dip was caused by profit taking and does not...

Interest in the greenback returns 9 Jan at 9 AM As the Bank of Japan pushes ahead with a policy to reduce deflation by introducing stringent monetary policies the dollar has edged slightly higher against the yen following a retreat earlier in the week. It appears likely that the Japanese central bank will look to introduce an inflation target of 2 per cent.

According to...

Fiscal cliff agreement drives down dollar 2 Jan at 10 AM A rare agreement in Congress to increase taxes for the country’s richer households will mean that the US will not hit the fiscal cliff that threatened to push the world’s largest economy into recession. An appetite for riskier assets by traders has also seen the value of the yen plunge to its lowest level against the greenback since July...