Market News

It looks like a Fed interest rate hike in September is a real possibility. After months of uncertainty and speculation, a senior Fed official came out in support of the rate increase sending the dollar upwards, primarily at the expense of the Swiss Franc and Canadian Dollar.

As is well known, the government of Japan has been embarking on a scheme, which included both monetary and fiscal policy, which would hopefully result in economic growth. To that end, the Bank of Japan has made numerous attempts to ensure that the Japanese Yen is weak enough to promote growth through trade.

Looks like there’s trouble in paradise. If economists have it right, Australia’s current property boom which has zoomed 11% so far this year, could be coming to an end.

The U.S. Dollar is just beginning to gain some positive momentum in the trading week. Earlier, it had been broadly after Friday’s U.S. employment costs report seems to have clouded the outlook for the Federal Reserve Bank.

Greece seems to be walking on egg shells on its way to recovery. After months of heady negotiations that saw the country on the verge of bankruptcy and a near “Grexit,” Athens is making its moves cautiously.

This can be expected to be a busier week than recent weeks, with a lot more going on and more volatility. It will be an especially important week for the USD, the AUD, and the GBP, with key central bank input also due regarding the JPY.

The next major financial event seems to be taking place in the United Kingdom where talk of a “Brexit” has hit front page news.

The U.S. Dollar continued to gain positive momentum in the wake of the Federal Reserve’s latest policy decision.

The U.S. economy continues to improve with decreasing unemployment and improvement in the housing sector.

Markets have a way of switching gears almost overnight and that is what seems to be happening in Asia.

The US Dollar edged higher against the Japanese Yen as investors dismiss the recent rout in Chinese equities and as speculation grows that the U.S. could soon see a rise in interest rates.

The big question hanging in the air this week is whether or not the Fed will officially schedule a date for the interest rate increase which it has been predicting for the last few months.

The Euro had been gathering steam and had earlier struck a 2-week peak versus the US Dollar as traders awaited the release on German business sentiment. Germany, as the largest economy in the Euro area, essentially drives the remainder of the Eurozone and largely sets sentiment for the common currency.

Financial markets usually slow down in the summer. But the coming week could provide some indication of how the rest of the quarter will pan out. The Federal Reserve's monetary policy decision will take center stage and along with the U.S. second-quarter growth report investors should have a better idea of what the rest of 2015 will look like.

There is very little data scheduled this week with the exception of the U.S. and Australian Dollars. Regarding the USD, this week will see the key monthly event in the Forex news calendar: the FOMC statement.