Commodity Currencies to Benefit

The US economy is not doing as well as it looks on the surface. People who spent time dissecting the payrolls data released on Friday noticed that even though there were a grand total of 157,000 additions to payrolls last month,...

US Economy Slowed to Weakest Pace in 4 Years

The US economy slowed to its weakest pace in 4 years at the beginning of 2007. Gross domestic product- a measure of all goods and services produced in the economy - rose at a seasonally adjusted 0.6% (0.8% expected) in the first-

Competing Forces Between Housing and Inflation

Fed policy makers kept their prediction of a pick-up in economic growth and said "downside risks"' to the expansion have "diminished slightly" in minutes of the May 9 Federal Open Market Committee meeting released yesterday. They also acknowledged they...

Another Massive Global Stock Sell-off

When China scratches its back, the world takes notice. Today, stocks all around the world suffered a massive drop after China tripled the tax on securities transactions, causing the biggest slump in the region's best performing equity market in 3 months. The CSI...

Finally the Market Wakes Up

After a long weekend, forex players from Europe and US returned to the scene in force, injecting a high dose of much-needed volatility into the market. More people hopped onto yen carry trades, and pushed EUR/JPY up to another...

UK Property Demand Dips

According to Hometrack, UK house prices rose at the slowest pace in four months in May as interest rates at a six-year high discouraged buyers. The Hometrack...

It All Boils Down to the Person Who Trades

When we trade, the thing we most want to accomplish is the consistency of profitable trading. It is certainly possible to make money trading forex, the question is, can you keep it up over a period of time? An excellent trading strategy...

Forex Dynamics Are Shifting

The USD/JPY pair used to be the most orderly pair out of the four currency majors, but I've noticed increasingly that this pair moves like a forex rodeo - with violent....

More UK Interest Rate Hikes to Come

Minutes from the Bank of England MPC's May meeting showed that its nine members unanimously backed a rate increase to 5.5% from 5.25%, and said the Committee could lift the key bank...

Narrow Trading Range in Forex Markets

Seems like USD bulls are currently taking a break partly due to a lack of significant forex news. All four currency majors have moved only around 40 pips today, in a dull sideways fashion. German ZEW report today showed that...

Financial Markets Look to China

The Asian forex session has been a yawn, but all that changed after the closing of the Chinese stock market. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index, which tracks both A and B shares, ended up 1% at 4072.23, its highest-ever closing...

Currency Markets In Limbo After China's Move

Did you see last Friday's happenings in the forex market? If not, open your charts of EUR/JPY and USD/JPY. Both pairs initally fell upon China's announcement, but later on in the US session, big players sold the Yen again, almost erasing the losses suffered by both pairs. Now...

Major Shakeup In Financial Markets

I was expecting it to happen - the liquidation of carry trades. The Japanese Yen has rallied strongly against the US dollar and the Euro after China officially announces a widening of the USD/CNY trading band to 0.5% from 0.3% - above and below its central parity...

Market Turns Bullish On the US Dollar

If you haven't looked at the market, the US dollar has stepped all over most other currencies, in a sudden shift of sentiment. Suddenly, everyone wants the greenback in their pocket. So far, US data has been positive - jobless claims dipped for the 5th straight week...

Carry Trades in Demand Again

Yesterday just when I thought the forex market was going to be quiet, it was anything but. Players with very deep pockets ran stop orders, causing the US dollar to plunge sharply, especially versus Euro and Swiss Franc. Today, the USD has...