Posts Tagged pound
WORLD FOREX: Euro Choppy After Middling US Retail Sales Data
Posted by Tetyana Matychak in Currency, Favourites on November 17th, 2009
The euro traded in choppy waters early in New York Monday, after a slight improvement in U.S. retail sales failed to spark an extension of its overnight gains.
The retail sales report came on the heels of data that showed an expansion in Japanese economic activity, which set the stage for the euro and other higher-yielding currencies to rise against the low-yielding dollar.
But until more convincing data supporting the global economic recovery are released, the euro and its higher-yielding counterparts are likely to remain in their recent ranges, analysts said.
With the morning’s U.S. economic reports out of the way, attention will shift to the 12:15 p.m. EST speech of Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke in New York for clues as to any changes in monetary policy or the state of the U.S. economy. Read the rest of this entry »
Euro weakens as European Union grows wary of currency’s rise
Posted by Tetyana Matychak in Currency on October 2nd, 2009
The U.S. dollar was on the rise Thursday, gaining ground versus the euro after European Union officials signaled discomfort with the single currency’s recent rise.
According to news reports, E.U. Economic and Monetary Affairs Commissioner Joaquin Almunia said finance ministers from the 16 nations that share the euro would discuss the currency’s rise in order to prepare a common position ahead of a meeting of Group of Seven officials in Istanbul this weekend.
The move sent the euro tumbling through the $1.46 level versus the dollar. Following on the heels of similar remarks by French President Nicolas Sarkozy at the Group of 20 summit in Pittsburgh last week, the remarks indicate European authorities are becoming increasingly worried about the euro’s ongoing rise versus the dollar, said Boris Schlossberg, director of currency research at GFT.
The euro (CUR_EURUSD 1.46, -0.01, -0.53%) traded at $1.4546, down from $1.4634 in afternoon trade in New York Wednesday. The single currency notched new one-year highs versus the dollar last month and rose 3.9% in the third quarter.
The euro had traded below $1.25 in March, before beginning a steady upward March as global equity markets began a rebound and investors showed a steady rise in risk appetite. Read the rest of this entry »
Dollar gets modest boost from rising trade tensions
Posted by Tetyana Matychak in Currency on September 15th, 2009
The U.S. dollar got a modest lift versus the euro and most other major currencies Monday, with rising U.S.-China trade tensions prompting investors to unwind some short positions on the beleaguered greenback.
China said Sunday it would launch an anti-dumping investigation into U.S. sales of chicken and auto products, a move apparently in response to Washington’s decision to impose punitive sanctions on Chinese tire imports late last week.
“Talk of rising trade tensions after President Obama announced tariffs on Chinese imports may have acted as a catalyst [for a dollar rebound], but the move is unlikely to lead to a trade war,” wrote strategists at Brown Brothers Harriman. “So far the dollar’s recovery has been muted.”
The euro traded at $1.4558 versus the dollar in recent action, down from $1.4587 in North American trade late Friday. Rising risk appetite last week helped push the euro to a new high for the year above $1.46.
The British pound changed hands at $1.6553, down from $1.6685. Read the rest of this entry »
Stocks, Oil, Metals Drop on Economy Concern; Yen, Dollar Gain
Posted by Tetyana Matychak in Favourites, Fund Markets on July 6th, 2009
Stocks fell, pushing the MSCI World Index lower for a third day, and oil and industrial metals retreated on concern the global economic recovery is faltering.
The MSCI World Index of 23 developed countries slipped 0.8 percent at 10:15 a.m. in London, extending its decline since reaching a high for the year on June 2 to more than 6 percent. Germany’s DAX Index retreated, bringing its drop from its 2009 high to 10 percent, the common definition of a correction. Nickel decreased for a third day on the London Metal Exchange, while oil slumped to its lowest level in five weeks. The yen rose against all 16 most-traded currencies tracked by Bloomberg.
Stocks tumbled, with Standard & Poor’s 500 Index futures declining by 0.9 percent, before the U.S. earnings season begins with Alcoa Inc.’s results on July 8. Profits at S&P 500 companies dropped last quarter and will also contract in the three months ending in September, extending the stretch of declines to a record nine quarters, according to analysts’ estimates compiled by Bloomberg. The Institute for Supply Management’s index today may show U.S. service industries contracted for a ninth straight month in June.
“The reassessment of the global economic outlook is likely to continue this week,” a team of Citigroup Inc. strategists, including Todd Elmer in New York, wrote in a research report today. “As a result, an extension of the recent bout of risk aversion may lie in store.” Read the rest of this entry »
Britain’s Millionaire Club Shrivels by Half on Slump
Posted by Tetyana Matychak in Budget on June 1st, 2009
The U.K.’s millionaire club has shriveled by half because of the slump in property prices, falling stock prices and smaller bonuses, the Centre for Economics and Business Research said.
There are currently 242,000 people living in Britain with assets of at least 1 million pounds ($1.6 million), compared with 489,000 estimated in the CEBR’s previous report in 2007, the research group said today in London.
The financial crisis cost British households 1.9 trillion pounds of their wealth since July 2007, according to a report in March by PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP. With the property market extending its slump and the economy mired in a recession forecast by the government to be the worst since World War II, the number of millionaires may keep falling this year.
The drop “reflects the collapse in the property market, the fall in the values of shares and the 70 percent drop in City bonuses,” Douglas McWilliams, chief executive of the CEBR, said in a statement. “With property prices near to bottoming out, we would expect the number of millionaires to start to rise again in 2011.” Read the rest of this entry »
Dollar Falls to 8-Week Low After Fed Projects Deeper Recession
Posted by Tetyana Matychak in Currency on May 21st, 2009
The dollar traded near an eight-week low against the yen amid speculation the U.S. Federal Reserve will print more cash to boost purchases of assets as it seeks to counter the global slump.
The U.S. currency weakened most against the Taiwan and Canadian dollars after the Fed projected a deeper recession in 2009. New Zealand’s dollar rose for a fourth day after a government report showed immigration growth accelerated. The euro traded near a four-month high against the dollar after a German manufacturing and services survey beat economists’ forecasts.
“The Fed may expand its asset-purchase program, which would increase the supply of greenbacks,” said Yuji Saito, head of the foreign-exchange group in Tokyo at Societe Generale SA, France’s third-largest bank. “This could undermine the value of the dollar and spur investors in the U.S. to put their funds overseas.”
The U.S. currency traded at 94.81 yen as of 8:38 a.m. in London from 94.88 yesterday in New York. It fell to 94.29 earlier, the lowest level since March 20. Japan’s currency strengthened to 130.62 per euro from 130.77. The euro was little changed at $1.3777 from $1.3780 yesterday, when it reached $1.3830, the strongest level since Jan. 5. Read the rest of this entry »
Euro Weakens
Posted by Tetyana Matychak in Currency, Favourites on April 17th, 2009
The euro fell to a one-month low against the dollar after European Central Bank President Jean- Claude Trichet’s pledge to boost confidence failed to assuage concern the bank’s policy makers are split.
The Dollar Index rose for a fourth day before a report that may show consumer confidence in the U.S. increased for a second month, underpinning signs its recession may be easing. The euro fell against 15 of 16 major currencies monitored by Bloomberg after a report yesterday showed February factory output in the region plunged, fueling concern the slowdown is deepening.
“The euro is out of favor,” said Neil Jones, head of European hedge fund sales in London at Mizuho Corporate Bank Ltd. “The market is worried about uncertainty of policy measures. The ECB is likely to embark on quantitative easing given the economic situation, but how are they going to do that is the question.”
The euro dropped to $1.3082 as of 9:48 a.m. in London from $1.3186 in New York yesterday. It fell as low as $1.3068, the weakest since March 18, and is heading for a second weekly loss. The currency slid to 129.96 yen, from 130.90 yen. The dollar was little changed at 99.37 yen, from 99.27 yen. Read the rest of this entry »
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