Forex Trading News
Dollar, Euro, Pound & Yen

23:34 Monday 12 July, 2010

The dollar advanced versus most major currencies on Monday, regaining some ground on the euro as investors appeared to book profits on the single currency's rebound last week.

"Although market sentiment was universally euro-bearish in early June, opinion has clearly shifted in the past month," said Gareth Berry, currency strategist at UBS.

The euro has rebounded from a four-year low -- $1.1877 on June 7 -- and touched $1.27 last week, buoyed as worries about Europe's banking system faded, Berry said.

23:16 Monday 12 July, 2010

U.S. stocks fluctuated as investors waited for Alcoa Inc. to start the second-quarter earnings season, with technology companies rallying and financial shares retreating.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index rose 0.1 percent to 1,079.52 at 9:46 a.m. in New York after slipping 0.4 percent earlier. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 16.87 points, or 0.2 percent, to 10,214.9.

21:52 Monday 12 July, 2010

UK GDP data for the second quarter reignited fears over the country's economic recovery Monday. Michael Izza, CEO of ICAEW, Ruth Lea from Arbuthnot Banking Group and Allister Heath from CityAM discuss the outlook.

19:25 Monday 12 July, 2010

The risk of a double-dip recession has increased significantly, believes Philippe Dauba-Pantanacce, senior economist at Standard Chartered. He explains why and shares his growth outlook for the MENA region with CNBC's Yousef Gamal El-Din, Chloe Cho & Anna Edwards.

19:20 Monday 12 July, 2010

Britain's recession was deeper than initially estimated, though first-quarter gross domestic product expanded by an unrevised 0.3% compared to the final three months of 2009, government figures showed Monday.

Compared to the first quarter of last year, GDP fell by 0.2%, according to the Office for National Statistics. The data had initially been set for release on June 30, but was delayed after the ONS said it had found "potential errors" in the national accounts data set.

"After all the intrigue and speculation caused by the Office for National Statistics delaying the release of the GDP data by a couple of weeks, ultimately the revised data were a bit of a damp squib and did not change the picture hugely," said Howard Archer, chief U.K. economist at IHS Global Insight.

19:15 Monday 12 July, 2010

U.S. stock futures fell, indicating the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index may snap a four-day rally, while a third month of declining Chinese imports drove down copper. The euro and the yen weakened and Treasuries rose.

China’s iron ore and copper imports dropped last month from May, the third straight decrease, damping the outlook for demand from the world’s fastest-growing major economy. European finance ministers are meeting today in Brussels to debate how much of the detail of stress tests on banks to disclose before releasing results by the end of July. Stocks fluctuated in Europe before the start of the U.S. second-quarter earnings season.

“The earnings season is likely to herald mixed results, prospects for robust corporate earnings are good, those for financial-sector earnings less so,” Michael Hart, a currency strategist at Citigroup Inc. in London, wrote in a report. “The European bank stress tests hang over the market like a Damocles’ sword, but even the scheduled publication on July 23rd is unlikely to bring either relief or resolution.”

16:51 Monday 12 July, 2010

Japan's ruling coalition government has lost its upper house majority on Sunday. Jesper Koll, MD & head of Japanese equity research at JPMorgan Securities, talks politics with CNBC's Oriel Morrison, and says the election outcome will lead to a more focused, pro-growth policy led by Japan's bureaucracy.

16:42 Monday 12 July, 2010

Asian stocks fell, led by Japanese banks, and the yen weakened to a two-week low against the dollar on concern efforts to cut Japan’s government debt will slow after the ruling party lost control of the upper house.

The Democratic Party of Japan won 44 seats in the upper house, 12 short of a majority, making it unlikely Prime Minister Naoto Kan will be able to reduce the world’s largest public debt. Stocks rose earlier ahead of the start of the U.S. second- quarter earnings season, with S&P 500 companies projected to post profit gains of 34 percent, according to analysts’ estimates compiled by Bloomberg.

“The yen could actually weaken because there’s going to continued spending by the government and there’s going to be a delay in the consumption tax hike,” Curtis Freeze, chairman of Honolulu-based Prospect Asset Management Inc. with about $1 billion in assets, said in a Bloomberg Television interview. “Earnings are the key but it’s going to be very company specific.”

16:38 Monday 12 July, 2010

Just a month ago, BNP Paribas SA, Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc and UBS AG said the euro was heading toward parity with the dollar as Europe’s sovereign debt crisis threatened to tear the European Union apart.

Investors who bought the 16-nation currency when it reached a four-year low of $1.1877 on June 7 would have realized a return of 6.4 percent by now after the euro strengthened to $1.2641 on July 9 in New York.

“The negative sentiment was extreme,” said Mansoor Mohi- uddin, the Singapore-based head of foreign-exchange strategy at UBS, the world’s second-largest currency trader. “While we still see a lot of weakness in some euro zone bond markets, the outright pressure of the dissolution of the currency union has disappeared.”

10:35 Monday 12 July, 2010

Following news that Japan's ruling party has lost the upper house majority, Dan Slater, director, Economist Corporate Network, explains why a gridlock is in the offing. He speaks to CNBC's Kaori Enjoji, Karen Tso and Martin Soong.

10:31 Monday 12 July, 2010

China’s unexpected rebound in overseas shipments to a record last month may lose pace as the European crisis, a moderating U.S. recovery and yuan gains curb demand for goods from the world’s largest exporter.

Customs officials, while hailing a recovery in exports to pre-financial crisis levels, said Europe’s debt woes and the “sharp decline” in the value of the euro have started to affect China’s sales to that region. Diminished overseas demand, along with cooling domestic investment, increase the odds that Premier Wen Jiabao may unwind some policy tightening and limit further yuan gains to sustain growth.

“Exports may see a sharp deceleration after July as demand in Europe and the U.S. weakens and a stronger Chinese currency, higher wages and reduced export tax rebates erode the competitiveness of Chinese goods,” said Shen Jianguang, Hong Kong-based economist at Mizuho Securities Asia Ltd. “The government may have to intensify efforts to boost the domestic economy as they have limited control over external demand.”

10:23 Monday 12 July, 2010

The yen weakened against all its major counterparts as signs that the global economic recovery is intact sapped demand for Japan’s currency as a refuge.

The yen was near a three-week low versus the euro after Prime Minister Naoto Kan’s party lost control of Japan’s parliament’s upper house, undermining efforts to rein in the world’s largest public debt. The euro gained on a Sole 24 report that Italy’s largest banks will pass stress tests. Canada’s dollar climbed for a fifth-straight day versus the greenback.

“With extreme worries about the fate of the global economy easing, risk aversion is also weakening,” said Tomohiro Nishida, a Tokyo-based foreign-currency dealer at Chuo Mitsui Trust & Banking Co., a unit of Japan’s seventh-largest banking group. “The recent bout of yen buying, driven by strong risk aversion, seems to be running out of steam.”

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