Alan’s Forex Blog

Global financial markets appear on the cusp of climactic price movement. Nearly every asset class has exhibited high volatility as tensions increase and market participants reveal the raw emotions of fear and greed. Fresh all-time highs and lows can be found in multiple areas, from currencies to commodities, moving hand-in-hand due to their US dollar relationship. After all, commodities are dollar-denominated, so a weakening Greenback makes food, energy, and metals cheaper to non-US investors

The USD fell to new all-time lows against the European single currency (EUR) just one day after a Fed plan to ease the credit crunch inspired sharp USD gains.  EUR/USD rose from about 1.5450 in early NY trading and peaked in the late afternoon after making a high around 1.5570.  The greenback was sold heavily in Asian and European trading, as Chinese officials indicated a need to hold stronger currencies in their FX reserves at the expense of the USD.  Mid-east sovereign wealth

Tuesday’s London Session has brought a merciful reprieve from the moves seen over the past few days. The pressure on assets of risk has alleviated, at least for a few hours. Specific to the currency market, the Euro has experienced robust gains across the board and hit fresh all-time highs near 1.5500. Trading conditions have been active and orderly, characterized by ”normal” volume, modest ranges and light volatility. A mood of nervousness is undoubtedly circulating across trading desks.

Major currencies largely held to ranges established after Friday’s US NFP release, while deteriorating  credit market conditions kept investors nervous as rumors swirled that a US brokerage may  lack sufficient capital; the rumors were later denied.   There were no major data releases out of the US today, so traders were left to kick around the key themes that have been driving the market recently, and most of those focus on the US housing market decline and subsequent

Due to the timing of the release of today’s London Session Update, I will attempt to utilize an underrated quality: brevity. The bottom line is the following: London trading was quite typical for a pre-US Non-Farm Payroll environment. Traders were rightfully nervous, liquidity was thin, and activity was choppy. Recent trends continued, bolstering the Euro at the expense of the US dollar. Rumors of the Fed intervening via liquidity injections and/or an unscheduled rate cut ran rampant. All

The currency markets settled down a bit in the final Asia session of the week following yet another record low for the greenback in the previous New York session.   That’s not to say opportunities for short term trades weren’t presented to investors.  AUDUSD caught a decent bid higher off session lows and dealt 65+ pips to the upside and  back over .9300.  After yesterday’s run higher in EURUSD, the pair showed significant resistance near the 1.54 handle.  Traders

The US dollar continued to plumb the depths today, falling to new all-time lows against the Euro and reaching just shy of the 1.5400 level, up from 1.5310/15 NY opening levels.  Against the JPY, the USD made fresh lows for the current decline around 102.55/60, down from 104.00 in Asian trading overnight.  The British pound (GBP) and the  Euro(EUR) received a boost as both their central banks held interest rates steady, and ECB Pres. Trichet failed to criticize current EUR

Alas, we have finally reached (rate) decision day for the Bank of England and the European Central Bank. As expected, London trading opened with average volume and volatility by most measures, but activity waned as the session progressed towards the 0700 EDT (1200 GMT) and 0745 EDT (1245 GMT) announcements. That is not to say, however, that traders did not get their share of fireworks over the past few hours - both literally and figuratively. The headlines of the day will undoubtedly be about