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Forex News – Sterling spikes down v. USD after poor UK retail sales

Posted on November 15, 2012 at 10:55 am GMT

Sterling tumbled to a new two-month low against the dollar and a two-week low against the euro in reaction to weaker-than-expected UK retail sales data. The poor figures give evidence of a slow growth outlook for the British economy. The sales volumes dropped by more than expected by 0.8 percent in October according to data from the Office for National Statistics. This was the weakest since April. Analysts had forecast a drop of only 0.1 percent. September figures were revised [..]

Forex News – Sterling tumbles after BoE inflation report

Posted on November 14, 2012 at 11:10 am GMT

Sterling tumbled against the dollar and euro after the Bank of England’s governor Mervyn King gave a grim outlook on the British economy. King was giving a press conference after the BOE quarterly inflation report was released today. King said it would be hard for the UK economy to grow fast without further falls in the real exchange rate. The report British inflation is likely to be significantly higher over the next 18 months than expected in August, according to [..]

Forex News – Yen tumbles after Japan PM proposes snap elections

Posted on November 14, 2012 at 7:57 am GMT

The yen weakened sharply on Wednesday just as the Asian trading session was ending after comments from Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda. Noda mentioned that he would have no problem dissolving the lower house of Japan’s parliament later this week and call snap elections for next month. The markets reacted by selling off yen because they believe that if a new government comes in, it would likely be the main opposition Liberal Democratic Party and an LDP-led government which is [..]

Commodities – Gold lower today due to stronger USD

Posted on November 13, 2012 at 2:11 pm GMT

Gold prices eased on Tuesday due to a stronger dollar, paring gains after hitting a three-week high on Monday. Prices eased 0.3 percent to around $1,725. Safe haven flows to the greenback led gold prices lower, since the two assets have an inverse price relationship. Dollar has been boosted as investors usually turn to the world’s reserve currency when there is uncertainty in the financial markets. It is considered to be the most liquid currency. The dollar index, which gauges [..]

Forex News – German sentiment index drops in November

Posted on November 13, 2012 at 10:49 am GMT

The euro tumbled against the dollar, gapping down by over 20 pips after disappointing German sentiment survey which was much worse than expected. Germany’s ZEW economic sentiment index declined to minus 15.7 in November from minus -11.5 in October. This was well below forecasts for -9.8. The euro zone crisis is evidently taking its toll on Europe’s largest economy. Foreign trade and lack of confidence are impacting the German economy. Meanwhile, prevailing recessionary developments in the euro zone are likely [..]

Forex News – UK inflation at 5-month high

Posted on November 13, 2012 at 10:34 am GMT

Sterling jumped against the dollar immediately after UK CPI data which showed that inflation in October rose to the highest in five months. Much of the driver pushing inflation higher was a mixture of rising food prices and higher university fees. The data raised speculation that the Bank of England will be less likely to increase quantitative easing. Such stimulus measures usually weaken the currency. So if the central bank holds back form more QE, this will help lift the [..]

Forex News – Obama and Boehner to compromise to avert fiscal cliff

Posted on November 12, 2012 at 5:36 pm GMT

President Barack Obama and U.S. House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner have given signs of willingness to work together to reach a compromise on the so-called “U.S. fiscal cliff”. They hope to diffuse a gridlock in the U.S.. Congress amid partisan tensions over tax positions to avert a fiscal crisis, which would result from the combination of big tax increases and spending cuts scheduled to begin January 1st of next year. At the end of the week, the re-elected U.S. [..]

Forex News – Greek parliament passes new budget

Posted on November 12, 2012 at 9:49 am GMT

Amid protests outside the Greek parliament in Athens on Sunday, Greek lawmakers were voting inside to approve the new 2013 budget that will involve tough new austerity measures and spending cuts. The vote was successful, totalling 167 votes for and 128 against the new bill. Aprroving the new budget is important for Greece because it will now be able to secure its next bailout tranche from the troika (EU, ECB, IMF). Parliament was in session until late into Sunday night, [..]

Commodities – Gold rises for second day

Posted on November 9, 2012 at 2:07 pm GMT

Gold rose for a second day to hit a three-week high as concerns of the U.S. fiscal cliff and more loose monetary policy boosted demand for the precious metal. Immediately after the U.S. elections on Tuesday, market focus switched to the looming $600 billion worth of spending cuts and tax increases which will kick in by January 1 next year if the U.S. government does not find a resolution. Investors have become worried that Washington’s politicians may struggle to find [..]

Forex News – UK trade gap narrowed in September

Posted on November 9, 2012 at 12:27 pm GMT

The United Kingdom’s trade gap was narrower in September by more than expected as the economy bounced out of recession in the third quarter. The trade balance report from the Office for National Statistics showed that Britain’s overall trade deficit, which includes the more buoyant trade in services, shrank to 2.7 billion pounds, down from 4.3 billion in August. Meanwhile the goods trade deficit narrowed to 8.4 billion pounds in September from 10.0 billion pounds in August, and the quarterly [..]

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