Canadian Dollar Advances as Current-Account Deficit Narrows

The Canadian dollar advanced today against its US peer as the nation’s current-account deficit shrank last quarter, adding to speculations that the central bank may raise interest rate in the future.
The currency declined versus the euro. The Canadian current-account shortage narrowed by C$0.5 billion to C$14.1 billion in the first quarter of 2013. Analysts have expected an increase. The positive data added to evidences that the Bank of Canada can withdraw some stimulus without hurting the economy. The loonie was especially strong against the greenback, which was weakened by negative macroeconomic reports from the United States. The Canadian currency also trimmed its losses versus the euro, but was unable to erase the drop completely. USD/CAD was down from 1.0348 to 1.0302 as of 19:22 GMT today. EUR/CAD traded at 1.3440 after rallying from 1.3389 to 1.3502 — the highest since April 17. CAD/JPY ticked up from 97.68 to 97.87. If you have any questions, comments or opinions regarding the Canadian Dollar, feel free to post them using the commentary form below.
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Franc Rises as GDP Growth Beats Expectations

The Swiss franc rose today as economic growth in Switzerland exceed analysts’ expectations, attracting investors to the nation’s assets and supporting the currency’s role as a safe haven. Swiss gross domestic product expanded 0.6 percent in the first quarter of 2013 from the previous three months.
Market participants have hoped for just 0.2 percent growth. The report said: Positive contributions to growth came from private consumption, investments in construction and from the trade balance, whilst investments in machinery and equipment by contrast decreased. The Swiss economy demonstrated a stark contrast to the economy of the eurozone that suffers from recession. Such advantage allowed the franc to gain despite the efforts of the Swiss National Bank to weaken the currency. USD/CHF went down from 0.9613 to 0.9531 and EUR/CHF fell from 1.2441 to 1.2433 as of 20:51 GMT today after rising to 1.2490. CHF/JPY edged up from 105.15 to 105.67. If you have any questions, comments or opinions regarding the Swiss Franc, feel free to post them using the commentary form below. http://www.topforexnews.com/

Aussie Drops with China’s Manufacturing

The Australian dollar slumped today, reaching the lowest level in a year against the US dollar, as China’s manufacturing contracted this month and the US Federal Reserve hinted that quantitative easing may be reduced.
The HSBC Flash China Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index dropped from 50.4 in April to 49.6 in May. It was expected to be little changed at 50.5. A reading below 50.0 indicates contraction of the sector. The Aussie (as the Australian currency is nicknamed) fell after the data and talks about an end to the Fed’s stimulus program did not help the currency either. AUD/USD dropped from 0.9698 to 0.9646 as of 8:49 GMT today. AUD/JPY sank from 100.02 to 97.55. If you have any questions, comments or opinions regarding the Australian Dollar, feel free to post them using the commentary form below. http://www.topforexnews.com/

Franc Drops as Jordan Speaks on Negative Interest Rates & Franc Cap

The Swiss franc dropped today as Swiss National Bank President Thomas Jordan talked about possibility of negative interest rates and shifting of the cap on the franc. Jordan warned about negative consequences of a strong currency: An appreciation of the franc would endanger price stability and have structurally grave consequences for the Swiss economy. He also spoke about changing the franc’s ceiling:
The adjustment of the minimum exchange rate is something that principally belongs to the options if needed. We will maintain the minimum exchange rate for as long as necessary. Negative interest rates are in the cards too, though they could have “side effects”. Indeed, the International Monetary Fund described adverse effects of negative rates, but was optimistic about the idea nevertheless. USD/CHF was up from 0.9699 to 0.9801 as of 23:39 GMT today. EUR/CHF advanced from 1.2518 to 1.2586. CHF/JPY ticked down from 105.59 to 105.24. If you have any questions, comments or opinions regarding the Swiss Franc, feel free to post them using the commentary form below.

Loonie Falls as Oil Drops and Fed Considers Reduced Easing

Canadian dollar is losing ground today, dropping as the the US Federal Reserve considers reducing its economic stimulus efforts. It’s also not helping the loonie that oil prices are dropping again. Dollar strength is the story across the board today, and that is affecting the loonie as well.
The news that the Federal Reserve might reduce its quantitative easing program is contributing to dollar strength today, and the Canadian dollar is following those flows. With the dollar stronger, commodities are struggling. Oil prices are lower today, and that affects the loonie as well. Oil is Canada’s main export, and lower oil prices mean a weaker Canadian dollar. As a result, it is little surprise that the Canadian dollar is a little bit lower, too. Many Forex traders are also looking forward to changes coming in Canada and speculating about what’s next. Bank of Canada head Mark Carney will soon move across the Atlantic to take over as the head of the Bank of England, and there is interest in what happens next for policy after he is gone. At 13:10 GMT USD/CAD is up to 1.0283 from the open at 1.0242. EUR/CAD is up to 1.3231 from the open at 1.3194. GBP/CAD is little lower, moving down to 155.6145 from the open at 1.5625. If you have any questions, comments or opinions regarding the Canadian Dollar, feel free to post them using the commentary form below. http://www.topforexnews.com/

UK Inflation Slows, Pound Weakens

The Great Britain pound weakened today after data showed that inflation slowed last quarter more than was predicted by analysts, reigniting concerns about the UK economy. The Consumer Price Index rose 2.4 percent in the first three months of 2013 from a year ago, slowing from the growth of 2.8 percent in the fourth quarter of 2012. The median forecast was at 2.6 percent. Other reports today were also negative, spoiling optimism caused by the previous macroeconomic data.
The minutes of the last Bank of England’s policy meeting will be released tomorrow and they may reveal what policy makers were thinking about the future monetary policy. GBP/USD dropped from 1.5253 to 1.5172 as of 10:00 GMT today. GBP/JPY was at 155.75 after rising from 155.98 to 156.52. If you have any questions, comments or opinions regarding the Great Britain Pound, feel free to post them using the commentary form below. http://www.topforexnews.com/

AUD/USD Falls After RBA Minutes, Losses Limited

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 was already priced in. AUD/USD traded at 0.9792 as of 9:36 GMT today after falling from 0.9807 to 0.9748. AUD/JPY advanced from 100.28 to 100.53, while its daily high was at 100.92. If you have any questions, comments or opinions regarding the Australian Dollar, feel free to post them using the commentary form below. http://www.topforexnews.com/

Taiwan Dollar Attractive for Investors

The Taiwan dollar gained today on signs that nation’s assets were attractive to overseas investors, leading to inflows of foreign funds, and as politicians were planning to review taxes on capital gains. Speculators have bought $996 million more Taiwanese shares than they sold by the end of last week, and this year’s net purchases totaled $4.8 billion. Deputy Finance Minister Tseng Ming-Chung said that the government will form a committee to review the levies that were implemented last year.
The currency advanced on the news, but analysts are worried that policy makers may intervene to weaken the Taiwan dollar as a way of protecting local exporters. USD/TWD fell from 30.0420 to 29.9355 as of 8:14 GMT today. If you have any questions, comments or opinions regarding the Taiwan Dollar, feel free to post them using the commentary form below.

Chilean Peso Drops vs. Dollar even as Monetary Policy Remains Stable

The Chilean peso weakened today against the US dollar even though the central bank refrained from cutting interest rates yesterday. The currency advanced versus the euro. The Central Bank of Chile kept its main interest rate at 5 percent.
The central bank said in the statement that “international financial conditions show some improvement”. Regarding Chile’s fundamentals, the bank noted: Domestically, first-quarter indicators show decelerating output and demand. The labor market is still tight. Policy makers were making noise about an intervention, but analysts did not expect the central bank to act this month. In fact, some economists believe that there will be no change to the monetary policy until the next year. USD/CLP was up from 479.8000 to 481.1000 as of 18:55 GMT today. EUR/CLP declined from 617.9250 to 617.3750. If you have any questions, comments or opinions regarding the Chilean Peso, feel free to post them using the commentary form below.

Yen Rebound on Concerns Weak Currency Can Hurt Economy

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. If you have any questions, comments or opinions regarding the Japanese Yen, feel free to post them using the commentary form below.

Speculations About End of QE Pushes Dollar Upward

This week was relatively quiet in terms of news, though some important macroeconomic reports were released. Meanwhile, the US dollar was rising against other most-traded currencies and the Dollar Index surged to the highest level in almost three years. As was expected, the dollar managed to rally despite possible obstacles. The major driver of the gains was speculation that the Federal Reserve will end its quantitative easing program.
This week’s macroeconomic data was bad for the most part and, truth be told, did not support the outlook for reduced stimulus. Yet this did not prevent talks about QE end to persist. The euro had its share of problems that pushed it down against the greenback, the major of which were the miserable GDP reports from Germany, France and the whole eurozone. Commodity currencies, including the Australian and Canadian dollar, were particularly weak versus the US dollar. The Aussie was falling for 9 sessions in 10 days. EUR/USD dropped from 1.2967 to 1.2826, the lowest weekly close since March. GBP/USD sank from 1.5351 to 1.5164, also the weakest weekly closing rate since March. USD/JPY jumped from 101.85 to 103.27 — the highest since October 2008. USD/CAD jumped from 1.0115 to 1.0290, the strongest weekly closing price since July. AUD/CAD tumbled from 0.9999 to 0.9723 — the low not seen since June. If you have any questions, comments or opinions regarding the US Dollar, feel free to post them using the commentary form below.

Canadian Dollar Slumps as Inflation Decelerates

The Canadian dollar slumped today, touching the lowest level since March against its US peer, as inflation slowed last month, decreasing probability of an interest rate hike from the Bank of Canada. The Consumer Price Index rose 0.4 percent in April from a year ago. It was the slowest growth since October 2009. Consumer prices fell 0.2 percent, month-on-month.
The BoC was talking about raising interest rates for some time, unique among central banks of developed nations in this regard. Recent fundamental data did not warrant tighter monetary policy and such talks hushed. USD/CAD surged from 1.0192 to close at 1.0290 today, while its daily high of 1.0311 was strongest since March 8. EUR/CAD advanced from 1.3129 to 1.3199. CAD/JPY went down from 100.25 to 99.35 before rebounding and closing at 100.34. If you have any questions, comments or opinions regarding the Canadian Dollar, feel free to post them using the commentary form below.

Political Infighting Takes Toll on Euro

Disagreement over the vision of the eurozone is starting to take its toll on the euro. Lack of unified leadership at a time of economic difficult and continued sovereign debt crisis is contributing to the euro hitting a six week low in earlier trading. French President Francois Hollande is once again pressing for greater integration in the eurozone, and the ECB has been announced as the bank supervisor for the eurozone.
However, even though the French president is interested in greater integration, his vision for the euro is not being greeted with enthusiasm from everyone. Brussels isn’t excited about it, and it’s not very popular in Berlin, either. Indeed, German Chancellor Angela Merkel has been skeptical of the idea of greater integration in the eurozone for some time. Between the recently disappointing economic data in the eurozone (particularly the last ZEW reading) and the lack of unified leadership amongst the major players in the 17-nation currency region, it is little surprise that the euro is struggling today. Earlier, euro hit a six-week low, and it will be difficult for the euro to overcome its issues. At 17:21 GMT EUR/USD is down to 1.2829 from the open at 1.2882. EUR/GBP is up to 0.8456 from the open at 0.8436. EUR/JPY is up to 132.2255 from the open at 131.7450. If you have any questions, comments or opinions regarding the Euro, feel free to post them using the commentary form below.

US Dollar Strengthens on Federal Reserve Comments

US dollar is heading higher today, surging on the latest news from the Federal Reserve. Comments about the Fed’s quantitive easing program — and its potential end this year — are lending strength to the greenback. The President of the San Francisco Federal Reserve, John Williams, made comments indicating that the current quantitative easing program might end this year.
The idea that the efforts to keep the dollar weak might be coming to an end is lending strength to the US dollar. Greenback is also gaining strength as Forex traders compare the economic situation in the United States with other regions. Even with the somewhat disappointing data from earlier this week, the greenback is still in a relatively strong position — especially when compared to the continued problems in the eurozone and the weakness with the UK economy. The US dollar index is on the rise, breaking through the 84.0000 level, and expected to maintain its strength. The strength of greenback also continues to weigh on gold prices. At 15:59 GMT the US dollar index is up to 84.2700 from the open at 83.7420. EUR/USD is down to 1.2818 from the open at 1.2882. GBP/USD is also lower, heading down to 1.5173 from the open at 1.5270. USD/JPY is up to 103.0105 from the open at 1.5270.

Polish Zloty Drops as Inflation Slows

The Polish zloty weakened today as negative fundamentals, including slowing inflation, spurred speculations that the central bank will cut interest rates yet again.
The Consumer Price Index rose 0.8 percent in April from a year ago, the slowest rate of growth since June 2006. It was the seventh straight month of slowing inflation. The current-account deficit was at €200 million in March, more than double the analysts forecast. The National Bank of Poland unexpectedly cut interest rates last week and the unfavorable fundamentals suggest that it may do so again. USD/PLN went up from 3.2425 to 3.2539 as of 8:10 GMT today. If you have any questions, comments or opinions regarding the Polish Zloty, feel free to post them using the commentary form below.

Swiss Franc Gains Despite Falling Economic Expectations

The Swiss franc gained yesterday and remained little-changed today against the US dollar and the euro even as economic expectations were worsening. The currency traded sideways versus the Japanese yen.
The ZEW-CS Indicator of economic expectations for Switzerland sank as much as 17.8 points to 2.2 in May. The report said that “last month’s significant gains are lost and the indicator falls back to the level of March 2013″. Meanwhile, the Swiss Producer Price Index ticked up 0.2 percent in April. Fritz Zurbruegg, Member of the Swiss National Bank Governing Board, said in an interview to L’Hebdo newspaper yesterday about the cap on the franc: The floor rate will remain in force as long as necessary to carry out our mandate of maintaining price stability. The current exchange rate still seems overvalued. USD/CHF fell from 0.9668 to 0.9646 yesterday (falling from the high of 0.9746 — the highest since August 20) before trading at 0.9654 as of 00:12 GMT today. EUR/CHF was at 1.2429 after dropping from 1.2489 to 1.2430. CHF/JPY was flat at 105.84. If you have any questions, comments or opinions regarding the Swiss Franc, feel free to post them using the commentary form below.

CAD Gains vs. USD & EUR on Economic Data, Flat vs. JPY

The Canadian dollar gained against the euro and the US dollar as macroeconomic data from the eurozone and the United States was bad. The currency was flat versus the Japanese yen. US industrial production fell 0.5 percent in April after rising 0.3 percent in March. The Producer Price Index edged down 0.7 percent last month.
The negative reports led to talks that the Federal Reserve will maintain its monetary stimulus. The news from Europe was not good either. It is interesting to see that the Canadian currency maintained strength even amid negative fundamental data. USD/CAD was down from 1.0178 to 1.0163 as of 23:01 GMT today after rising to 1.0218. EUR/CAD dropped from 1.3149 to 1.3088, while CAD/JPY was almost unchanged at 100.56. If you have any questions, comments or opinions regarding the Canadian Dollar, feel free to post them using the commentary form below.

Stronger US Dollar Pushes Gold Prices Lower

The US dollar index is higher today, gaining ground as the greenback shows improvement against the euro. Even though the dollar is lower against some currencies,
the greenback is showing overall strength, and that is pushing commodities like gold lower. Greenback is showing solid strength today, thanks in large part to the relative recovery of the US economy. Against the euro, especially following the latest GDP data out of Germany and France, the dollar is heading higher. Euro weakness is providing a boost to the dollar index, and the dollar is also getting help from a weak yen. US dollar is lower against the UK pound, though. The latest forecast from the BOE indicates that things might be picking up for the UK economy. The speculation over which central bank will ease stimulus measures first will likely play a role in determining the long term interplay between the pound and the dollar. The higher dollar index is also weighing on gold prices, which have slipped below $1,400 an ounce. With the dollar so strong, commodities are lower. At 15:32 GMT the US dollar index has climbed to 83.9000 from the open at 83.5780. EUR/USD is down to 1.2867 from the open at 1.2920. GBP/USD is up to 1.5222 from the open at 1.5208. USD/JPY is up to 102.4300 from the open at 102.4100. If you have any questions, comments or opinions regarding the US Dollar, feel free to post them using the commentary form below.