Crude oil rose to over US$93 a barrel on news that twenty percent of Mexico’s oil output was halted sending the USDCAD pair to 0.9515. The Japanese September jobless rate rose to 4% from 3.8%. The Bank of Japan is expected to keep interest rates unchanged. (more…)
The Dollar fell to a record low against the Euro on Tuesday for the third consecutive session as the market looked ahead to the outcome of a Federal Reserve meeting with most expecting an interest rate cut. While the chances of a 0.50 rate cut by the Fed on Wednesday have largely evaporated in the last few weeks, the futures market still reflects expectations for about 40 basis points of policy easing by the end of January 2008. A sliver of doubt that the Fed would reduce its benchmark interest rate for the second meeting in a row entered the market after an article in The Wall Street Journal (more…)
The US Dollar dropped to fresh lows on Monday while the Yen surged after a meeting of industrialized powers ended with no words of support for the Dollar, offering a green light to speculative sellers. The Dollar was also pressured by Friday’s 2.6% slide in Wall Street S&P Index and increasing speculation the Federal Reserve would cut interest rates next week; G7 leaders agreed Chinese Yuan was undervalued and they want the Yuan to appreciate faster, which means that the US dollar will depreciate faster, as China leads a generalized Asian appreciation; Futures Markets pointed US yields had fal (more…)
The Yen rose against the Dollar and Euro on Wednesday as weaker stocks and an unexpectedly softer September US existing home sales report caused investors to flee risky assets. This bigger-than-expected 8% drop to a 9-year low in September has reinforced expectations that the Fed will have to cut interest rates again next week; Merrill Lynch’s write-downs, related to problems with sub-prime mortgages, and news that sales of previously owned homes dived to a record low annual pace of 5.04 million units in September were seen cementing the case for a Federal Reserve interest rate cut next week; (more…)