July 17, 2013 – The Plot

July 17
2013

Pound Jumps on Falling Jobless Claims & BoE Minutes

The Great Britain pound climbed today as unemployment claims fell and the minutes of the last Bank of England meeting reveled that policy makers were considering usage of other tools than asset purchases to revive the struggling UK economy. The number of people claiming Jobseekerâs Allowance dropped as much as 21,200 in June from the prior month. The decrease was biggest in three years and far above analysts’ prediction. The BoE minutes showed that the members […]

July 17
2013

Bank of Canada Releases Dovish Statement, Loonie Drops

The Canadian dollar fell today as Bank of Canada Governor Stephen Poloz kept interest rates unchanged and released a policy statement that was definitely less hawkish than statements of the previous central bank’s head Mark Carney. As was expected, the BoC kept its main interest rate at 1 percent. Poloz was noticeably more dovish than Carney, saying that Canadian “economic growth is expected to be choppy […]

July 17
2013

Euro Slumps as Uncertainty Reigns

Euro is struggling today as uncertainty about the stability of the eurozone continues to weigh on sentiment. Between disappointing economic data, and conflicting reports about funding gaps, there are worries about what could be next for the eurozone, and that is sending the 17-nation currency lower against many of its major counterparts. The latest news out of the eurozone is less than encouraging. The latest labor data shows persistently high unemployment, […]

July 17
2013

Japanese Yen Remains Down Even with Prospect of Economic Recovery

Japanese yen is gaining today as Bank of Japan policymakers share their assessment of the economy. Even with an upbeat view of the recovery, yen is lower against its major counterparts. The Bank of Japan just ended a two-day policy meeting, in which the economy was discussed and the need for stimulus measures was reviewed. When making a statement about the economy, policy makers said that the economy is “starting to recover moderately.” This […]

July 17
2013

Won Climbs as Investors Buy South Korean Assets

The South Korean won advanced today as investors were buying Asian nation’s assets amid risk appetite created by hopes that the US Federal Reserve will maintain its stimulus. According to the exchange data, investors have purchased $128 million more South Korean bonds than they sold so far this week. The won rallied to the highest level in more than a month. Investors were willing to risk after […]

July 17
2013

Turkish Lira Halts Rally on Concerns About Smaller Interest Rate Hike

The Turkish lira fell for the first time this week on concerns that the expected interest rate hike will be smaller than was previously anticipated by market participants. Previously, the lira was rallying on speculations that Turkish policy makers will raise interest rates by at least 1 percentage point next week. Now traders are worried that the increase may be smaller if Federal Reserve Chairman Ben […]

July 17
2013

EUR/USD Slumps as Bernanke Speaks

EUR/USD slumped today after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke has started his semi-annual testimony to the Congress. US housing data was not particularly good today, but currently traders are hardly paying attention to anything but Bernanke’s speech. Housing starts and building permits came out worse than market participants have hoped for. Housing starts were at the seasonally adjusted annual rate of 836k […]

July 17
2013

Canadian Dollar Gains on QE Reduction Speculations, Backs Off

The Canadian dollar rallied against its US peer yesterday on speculations that the Federal Reserve is going to tamper stimulus, but retreated a little today. The currency erased losses versus the Japanese yen, while staying little changed against the euro. This week, the loonie, as well as other currencies, depends for the most part on guesses about what Ben Bernanke will say, not domestic fundamentals. The currency profited from talks […]

July 17
2013

Dollar Drops Ahead of Bernanke’s Testimony

The US dollar dropped today ahead of this week’s testimony of Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke. Traders yet again speculate about a reduction of quantitative easing, but they are less certain that such reduction will happen soon and this drove the greenback lower. Bernanke’s speech to the Congress is the major event this week and everybody’s attention is focused on it. The Chairman will start the testimony tomorrow and will […]

Day: July 17, 2013