Market News

The U.S. Dollar rose broadly, and the U.S. Dollar Index held close to a multi-months peak during the Asian trading session following the release of better than expected private sector jobs data which suggested that the world’s largest economy is finally showing signs of improvement.

The Euro and other commodity-linked currencies firmed during Wednesday’s Asian trading session, supported by an improvement in investors’ risk appetite which lifted Wall Street to a record close of 14,253.77 points, a gain of 125.95 points.

Following concerns that Italy’s economy has shrunk, the euro fell against the yen in Tuesday’s Asian session, falling 0.4 percent to 121.24 yen.

The Japanese Yen moved broadly higher following a steep drop in China’s key equity markets which prompted forex traders to seek out the safe haven currency.

According to a report published by the Federal Reserve on Thursday, US consumer debt rose at the end of 2013 for the first time in four years.

The Euro held steady against both the Japanese Yen and the U.S. Dollar during the Asian trading session after smooth sailing and solid demand for the Italian government’s sale of 5-year and 10-year sovereign bonds.

The Japanese Yen held on to earlier gains made against both the U.S. Dollar and the common currency Euro as market players focus on the likely outcome of an Italian sovereign bond sale which should help to pinpoint the Euro’s direction.

The common currency Euro dipped near to a 7-week low during Tuesday’s Asian trading session following the unexpected outcome of Italy’s Parliamentary elections.

During the Asian trading session, the Japanese Yen fell hard against the U.S. Dollar, hitting a fresh 33-month trough as investors react to rumors that the Japanese government is poised to name two well-known doves to replace the policy makers at the Bank of Japan.

The Euro edged higher to 1.3219 during the Asian trading session recovering from a sharp and broad decline on Thursday as market players view less than sterling economic data as evidence that the Eurozone’s recession continue to press onward, the result that the ECB might consider a rate cut in the months ahead.

The U.S. Dollar gained during the Asian trading session after the release of the most recent minutes from the Federal Reserve’s latest policy meeting in January.

The Japanese Yen firmed against its major rivals, with the rise attributed to investor uncertainty as to how the Japanese government will move forward with what had been clearly viewed as an aggressively loose monetary policy now that there are signs of dissension among officials, including a delay in the naming of the next Bank of Japan governor.

The Euro continues to edge lower against the U.S. Dollar following comments made yesterday by Mario Draghi, the head of the European Central Bank, who noted that the Euro’s recent rise was a risk to the Euro area’s economic outlook as well as to inflation.

The Japanese Yen weakened broadly during Monday’s trading session in Asia after the expected chastisement by the G20 members of the Japanese government’s outright manipulation of the currency failed to materialize.

The Japanese Yen gained versus both the U.S. Dollar and the Euro during the Asian session earlier as investors await some clarification from conflicting commentary out of the G20 meeting which is being held in Moscow.