Market News

The U.S. Dollar Index held close to a 7-month peak versus a weighted basket of its major rivals following the release of unexpectedly improved retail sales data which gave a lift to expectations that U.S. consumers might be able to weather the newly imposed spending cuts and tax increases.

The Japanese Yen’s recent sell off slowed during the Asian trading session though analysts don’t believe that the respite will be long lived as expectations for the Yen’s continued depreciation are rampant given an exceptionally dovish Bank of Japan.

The Japanese Yen struck a new multi-year low against its main rival, the U.S. Dollar, during Tuesday’s Asian trading session on investors’ expectations that the Bank of Japan’s monetary policy is about to become even dovish than initially anticipated.

The U.S. Dollar held close to a 3-year peak against the Japanese Yen as well as most major currencies during Monday’s Asian trading session, propelled their by much better than expected jobs data last Friday which fueled investors optimism that the largest economy in the world is well on the road to recovery.

During the Asian trading session, the Euro managed to hold on to earlier gains in the wake of a Euro rally which followed the European Central Bank’s surprising policy decision.

The U.S. Dollar rose broadly, and the U.S. Dollar Index held close to a multi-months peak during the Asian trading session following the release of better than expected private sector jobs data which suggested that the world’s largest economy is finally showing signs of improvement.

The Euro and other commodity-linked currencies firmed during Wednesday’s Asian trading session, supported by an improvement in investors’ risk appetite which lifted Wall Street to a record close of 14,253.77 points, a gain of 125.95 points.

Following concerns that Italy’s economy has shrunk, the euro fell against the yen in Tuesday’s Asian session, falling 0.4 percent to 121.24 yen.

The Japanese Yen moved broadly higher following a steep drop in China’s key equity markets which prompted forex traders to seek out the safe haven currency.

According to a report published by the Federal Reserve on Thursday, US consumer debt rose at the end of 2013 for the first time in four years.

The Euro held steady against both the Japanese Yen and the U.S. Dollar during the Asian trading session after smooth sailing and solid demand for the Italian government’s sale of 5-year and 10-year sovereign bonds.

The Japanese Yen held on to earlier gains made against both the U.S. Dollar and the common currency Euro as market players focus on the likely outcome of an Italian sovereign bond sale which should help to pinpoint the Euro’s direction.

The common currency Euro dipped near to a 7-week low during Tuesday’s Asian trading session following the unexpected outcome of Italy’s Parliamentary elections.

During the Asian trading session, the Japanese Yen fell hard against the U.S. Dollar, hitting a fresh 33-month trough as investors react to rumors that the Japanese government is poised to name two well-known doves to replace the policy makers at the Bank of Japan.

The Euro edged higher to 1.3219 during the Asian trading session recovering from a sharp and broad decline on Thursday as market players view less than sterling economic data as evidence that the Eurozone’s recession continue to press onward, the result that the ECB might consider a rate cut in the months ahead.