Alan’s Forex Blog

News and Events: The JPY and CHF firmed broadly on Monday as US stocks fell on credit-related worries, prompting investors to reduce exposure to risky assets and unwind trades funded by the Japanese and Swiss currencies’ low rates. The Yen approached eight-year highs against the Dollar while the Swiss franc rose to roughly two-year peaks against the Euro and was within striking distance of its record high against the Dollar. Meanwhile, the Dollar was steady against the Euro after Europe’s top

News and Events: The US Dollar tumbled to record lows against the Euro and the Swiss franc on Thursday after the European Central Bank downplayed prospects of an interest rate cut and did not voice concerns about the rally in the Euro. Analysts said there had been some anticipation that ECB President Jean-Claude Trichet would comment on the Euro after remarks this week by euro zone finance ministers group chairman Jean-Claude Juncker that the common currency was overvalued. News that US home

News and Events: The Dollar resumed its slide and fell to record lows against the Euro on Wednesday amid growing pessimism over the US economy. Demand for the currency fell further after data showed the country’s service sector contracted for a second straight month in February. Also on Wednesday, US Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson told policy-makers that while the economy would likely continue to grow, risks were to the downside, adding to mounting fears of an economic recession. EurUsd

News and Events: The Dollar was lower against a basket of currencies for the sixth day on Tuesday as Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke gave a weak assessment of the US housing sector, adding to mounting fears of recession. Still, the US currency staged a late session rebound versus the Japanese Yen after US stocks pared some of their sharp losses. Also on Tuesday, comments by euro finance ministers ahead of the European Central Bank meeting on Thursday helped put a halt to the Euro’s

News and Events: The Dollar halted a sharp sell-off against the Euro and a basket of major currencies on Monday on relief that US manufacturing had not deteriorated as much as expected. However, analysts said it was unlikely the Dollar’s recovery would be sustained given a raft of economic data this week that could reinforce fears of a US recession and a steeper Federal Reserve interest rate cut this month. Traders wary of another below-expectations economic report had pushed the Euro earlier

News and Events: The Dollar fell to record lows against the Euro and a basket of currencies for a fourth straight day on Friday as yet another set of weak US economic data left traders betting on an aggressive Federal Reserve rate cut next month. A sharp decline in global and US stocks knocked the Dollar to an all-time low against the Swiss franc and pushed it to a three-year trough against the Japanese Yen. However, short-covering ahead of the weekend halted the Dollar’s slide against the

News and Events: The Dollar fell to an all-time low versus the Euro for a third straight day on Thursday after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke warned some small US banks could fail and flagged further interest rate cuts. Market mood on Dollar also was soured by news the government’s second reading on 4Q US growth was unchanged from its advance estimate of 0.6%, whereas economists had forecast a slightly stronger result. A surprise big jump in initial weekly jobless claims also added to

News and Events: The Dollar dropped to all-time lows against the Euro and a basket of currencies on Wednesday after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke signaled further interest rate cuts in the fight to avert a US recession. Risks of a contraction in the world’s largest economy were again heightened by a report showing new US home sales fell in January to the lowest rate in nearly 13 years and housing inventories swelled, despite falling prices. Bernanke’s reiteration that growth risks