Market News

As the end of this quarter draws to a close, the common currency Euro is poised to record its single worst quarter ever.

Confidence in the euro zone’s economy rose for a fourth straight month in March to its highest since July 2011, a European Commission survey showed on Monday, suggesting the weak euro and lower oil prices are spurring the recovery.

In spite of the recent Federal Reserve policy decision which was surprisingly and decidedly dovish, the head of the US central bank, Janet Yellen, confirmed over the weekend that the Fed could begin gradually raising interest rates later in the year.

Economists and investors are anxious about the March U.S. labor market report due out in the next week which could be the deciding factor in when the Federal Reserve will spring its first interest rate hike.

This week does not look like it is going to be especially eventful. Nearly all western countries, with the notable exception of the U.S.A., will be going on public holiday this Friday for Easter. This is a major holiday and we can expect to see a falling-off of volumes in the financial market towards the end of the week.

Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen is in an unpleasant position these days facing a market uncertain of where it is heading in the near future.

Asian stocks were mixed on Friday as rising tensions in the Middle East obscured the investment outlook, while the dollar rebounded.

A growing crisis in Yemen has fueled concerns that the Middle East is on the verge of becoming a powder keg for geopolitical tensions which has sent investors rushing to safe haven currencies like the Japanese Yen and the Swiss Franc.

Brent crude oil price surged $3 in Asian trading on Thursday after Saudi Arabia and its Gulf Arab allies began a military operation in Yemen. Asian importers, however, said they were not immediately worried about supply disruptions.

The ECB’s quantitative easing program, which had initially kept the pressure on the Euro, seems to have provided a lift in sentiment among the Eurozone’s business community.

Greece risks running out of cash by April 20 unless it secures fresh aid, a source familiar with the matter said on Tuesday, leaving the country little time to convince skeptical creditors it is committed to economic reform.

An unexpected but positive surprise from preliminary PMI releases in the Eurozone helped to provide a lift to the common currency Euro versus the US Dollar which has been under some pressure as the debate on the timing of a Federal Reserve interest rate hike continues to grow.

An index of Asian shares erased its early gains on Tuesday after a measure of Chinese factory activity unexpectedly skidded to an 11-month low.

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras will meet with German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Monday, for the second time in five days, at the start of a week that may prove decisive for Greece’s future in the euro area.

It should be a relatively quiet news week for the important global currencies, with little scheduled for any currency except the U.S. Dollar, which can be expected to remain in focus. The Japanese Yen, Swiss Franc and Australian Dollar have no high-impact events scheduled this week at all.