Market News

For the first time in more than a decade, the Euro fell below the $1.08 price level in the wake of another dollar rally which brought the EUR/USD pair closer to parity, an occurrence most analysts did not expect would happen until at least 2016.

The U.S. dollar climbed to multi-year peaks against the euro and yen in Asia on Tuesday amid starkly diverging outlooks for interest rates globally, while currencies from emerging markets came under mounting pressure from risk aversion.

The US Dollar Index took a breather from its recently struck 11-year peak in the wake of last Friday’s unexpectedly upbeat labor report from the US which raised investors’ expectations of an interest rate hike from the Federal Reserve.

Greece’s provisional agreement with creditors to avert a default started to crack as European officials said the country’s latest proposals fell far short of what was tabled two weeks ago and Greek ministers floated the prospect of a referendum if their reforms are rejected.

This week can be expected to be relatively quiet, with the most significant focus falling only on the Euro on Monday, followed by Australia and New Zealand mid-week. Get the economic and political timeline for the week of March 9, 2015 here.

Last week saw record highs on Wall Street. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index topped a sixth year of the bull market while the Nasdaq Composite Index surpassed 5,000 for the first time in 15 years.

ECB President Mario Draghi said Thursday that the European Central Bank (ECB) will kick off its 60 billion euro-a-month ($66.3 billion) bond purchases on March 9 while keeping rates at record lows.

As markets await the Bank of England’s policy decisions which will be released later today, the Pound Sterling steadied broadly as investors attempt to balance the impact of an improving economy with the uncertainty of an upcoming election.

While all eyes are watching what’s happening with the Euro and the U.S. dollar, other countries are trying to deal with their own financial woes.

As expectations continue to growth that the European Central Bank is ready to embark on another round of massive liquidity, also known as Quantitative Easing, the Euro fell through month-long support levels and struck a 6-week trough versus the U.S. Dollar.

India’s central bank surprised markets with a cut to its key lending rate Thursday, stepping back from its inflation-fighting stance in a bid to help bolster sluggish growth in Asia’s third-largest economy.

The Pound Sterling edged higher against the Euro following the latest data release on UK construction which beat expectations and reinforced an improved start to this year despite uncertainty in UK politics.

Australian shares erased gains to tumble nearly 1 percent after the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) surprised most market watchers by holding back on further easing Tuesday.

The US Dollar Index rose close to an 11-year peak after the Peoples Bank of China announced an interest rate cut. That rate drop also sent the New Zealand and Australian Dollars higher, albeit briefly.

The latest episode of Greece's debt crisis has revived doubts about the long-term survival of the euro, especially in London, Europe's main financial center and a hotbed of Euro skepticism.