March 2013 UK Forex and Foreign Exchange News Archive
Archived Daily Wealth Management News...
Euro down as traders focus on Cyprus impact
27 Mar at 9 AM
News Item Link: Euro down as traders focus on Cyprus impact
The euro is currently at a four-month low against the US dollar as fears persist about the health of the single currency following a bailout deal with Cyprus. The worry is that bond holders and bank depositors could end up paying the price for other rescue deals within the bloc.
Eurogroup head, Jeroen Dijsselbloem, originally said that the...
Euro continues to suffer
20 Mar at 9 AM
News Item Link: Euro continues to suffer
The euro is close to its lowest level in four months against the US dollar as Cyprus risks ejection from the eurozone after rejecting the terms of a bailout. However, many analysts believe that, as in the past, the European Union will work to hammer out a compromise as the implications of Cyprus being expelled from the single currency are too...
Pound drops against disappointing industrial output
13 Mar at 9 AM
News Item Link: Pound drops against disappointing industrial output
An unexpected fall in industrial output in January has seen sterling weaken to $1.4832, the lowest level for the pound against the dollar since June 2010. The British currency also hit A$1.4370, its lowest point against the Aussie since 1985. In a note ANZ pointed to a lack of fresh initiatives and a lack of ability to ease fiscal policy at...
Commodity currencies boosted by bets on riskier assets
6 Mar at 9 AM
News Item Link: Commodity currencies boosted by bets on riskier assets
Commodity currencies have been given a boost by an improved appetite for riskier assets as the euro struggles to make gains ahead of a policy meeting at the European Central Bank. The mood has been given a boost by a commitment to bond buying at the US Federal Reserve and the probability that the Bank of England, ECB and Bank of Japan will...
Yen momentum fades
30 Mar at 9 AM
News Item Link: Yen momentum fades
The yen fell from multi-week peaks on a number of currencies in Asia today as investors chose to book profits because demand linked to Japan’s financial year-end was fading, reports Reuters.
The last week has been dominated by the Japanese currency’s repatriation and position squaring that breached several key stop-loss levels. The...
Burma to float kyat next month
29 Mar at 9 AM
News Item Link: Burma to float kyat next month
Burma has revealed that it will start floating its currency as of 1 April in order to attract investors from abroad, reports the BBC
The Central Bank of Myanmar (Burma) said that the local currency, the kyat, will be determined by supply and demand from now on. The target is to unify Burma’s various exchange rates. The country has been...
Yen boosted by Japanese exporter flows
28 Mar at 4 PM
News Item Link: Yen boosted by Japanese exporter flows
The yen edged higher on the dollar earlier today, supported by Japanese exporters’ seasonal flows, after they purchased the yen with their financial year end approaching, reports Reuters.
The dollar fell by 0.3 per cent to 82.97 yen, and the euro dropped by a percentage point to 110.63 yen, edging away from a four-and-a-half month high...
China and Australia sign $31bn currency exchange deal
27 Mar at 3 PM
News Item Link: China and Australia sign $31bn currency exchange deal
Australia and China have signed a currency exchange agreement in an attempt to promote bilateral investment, reports the BBC.
It will allow local currencies up to the value of 30bn Australian dollars (£ 20bn) to be exchanged between their central banks over a three-year period. The agreement is expected to reduce businesses’ costs as...
Dollar hit by dovish Fed
27 Mar at 3 PM
News Item Link: Dollar hit by dovish Fed
The dollar held near a one-month low on a basket of currencies today after Ben Bernanke, the chairman of the Federal Reserve, indicated that supportive monetary policy would stay and kept hopes alive of further stimulus for the economy in the US, reports Reuters.
The dollar index stood at 78.925, near to an overnight low of 78.870, when...
Yen boost as risk currencies take drubbing
23 Mar at 10 AM
News Item Link: Yen boost as risk currencies take drubbing
The yen kept a hold of overnight gains in Asia on Friday having gone up across the board with investors giving risk currencies such as the Australian dollar a wide birth because of concerns about the global economy’s health, reports Reuters.
Surveys on Thursday revealed that manufacturing shrank for a fifth consecutive month in China,...
Euro nurses losses
22 Mar at 10 AM
News Item Link: Euro nurses losses
The euro suffered losses in Asia on Thursday, falling from an almost five-month high against the yen as well as two-week highs on the US dollar after concerns about Spain’s finances added fresh pressure on the eurozone bonds, reports Reuters.
The euro last stood at $1.3212, having dropped from its overnight high of $1.3286. The rise in...
Dollar rises on China fears
21 Mar at 6 PM
News Item Link: Dollar rises on China fears
The dollar gained ground across the board today, boosted by safe-haven demand which was driven by concerns about a possible slowdown in China, which affected stocks in both Europe and the US.
Global miner BHP Billiton revealed that there were indications that there has been a flattening of growth in iron-ore demand in China, Australia’s...
Dollar index hovers close to one week low
20 Mar at 3 PM
News Item Link: Dollar index hovers close to one week low
The dollar hovered close to a one-week low point against a basket of currencies today, but recent signs that the US economy is improving and rises in the country’s Treasury yields were expected to offer the greenback some support, reports Reuters.
The dollar index was at 79.449, having clawed back some ground after dropping to 79.354 on...
Yen hits five month low on euro
19 Mar at 6 PM
News Item Link: Yen hits five month low on euro
The yen remained on the defensive today with the euro hitting a five-month high on the Japanese currency, as the dollar nursed losses after a setback last week, reports Reuters.
The euro hit a high point of 110.15 at one stage on trading platform EBS, the highest it has been since late October. Its gains later paired and was last trading...
GBP/USD almost unchanged following US data
16 Mar at 9 AM
News Item Link: GBP/USD almost unchanged following US data
The pound moved up and down between marginal gains and losses against the greenback on Thursday, after the release of a series of better-than-anticipated data from the US as the dollar stayed supported by lowered expectations for further monetary easing, reports forex-rateit.com.
GBP/USD hit 1.5635 in European afternoon trade, the two’s...
UK warned about credit rating downgrade
15 Mar at 6 PM
News Item Link: UK warned about credit rating downgrade
The Fitch credit ratings agency has done the same as Moody’s and placed the UK’s top AAA rating on negative outlook, reports the BBC.
Fitch Ratings warned that it may downgrade the UK over the next few years should the government not be able to contain the public debt level. The warning arrives as Chancellor George Osborne adds the...
Dollar up as Fed easing looks unlikely
15 Mar at 9 AM
News Item Link: Dollar up as Fed easing looks unlikely
As prospects for a new wave of Federal Reserve easing have faded after positive jobs data from the US, the dollar hit a seven-week high against many other currencies on Wednesday and was broadly firmer in Asia. As the majority of American banks passed the Fed’s annual stress test yesterday, risk-takers were also provided with some comfort....
Pound low against dollar before bailout meeting
13 Mar at 9 AM
News Item Link: Pound low against dollar before bailout meeting
As eurozone finance minister met in Brussels yesterday to discuss another bailout for Greece, the pound remained low against the dollar. Before consolidating at 1.5612, GBP/USD hit 1.5608 ,there lowest since January 25.
Cable was likely to find resistance at the high of December 23, 1.5707, and support at the low of January 4, 1.5578....
Dollar up after positive US jobs data
12 Mar at 9 AM
News Item Link: Dollar up after positive US jobs data
The dollar was the highest it has been for three weeks against the euro on Monday following positive employment statistics from the USA. The figures, which suggest America may not need any further help from the Federal Reserve, came as Greece’s bond swap deals are put in place to clear the way for a new bailout.
The euro slipped to...
Euro rises on Greek relief
9 Mar at 6 PM
News Item Link: Euro rises on Greek relief
The euro and commodity currencies saw overnight gains in Asia after Greece edged closer to securing the funds required to avoid a debt default, reports Reuters.
However, further gains are likely to depend on consumer inflation data and industrial output from China, which could either undermine or support the improving risk sentiment. The...
Japan current account swings to deficit of 437.3bn yen
8 Mar at 6 PM
News Item Link: Japan current account swings to deficit of 437.3bn yen
The yen lost ground on the dollar today in a reaction to data revealing that Japan’s current account had swung to hit a record deficit in January, reported Reuters.
Meanwhile, the Australian dollar dropped on a weak jobs report which kept alive rate cut expectations. Short-term players sold the yen after Tokyo posted a current account...
More investors agree to Greek debt swap
7 Mar at 6 PM
News Item Link: More investors agree to Greek debt swap
More lenders in the private sector have agreed to a Greek debt swap deal which could determine if the Mediterranean nation can stay in the euro, reports the BBC.
The banking group heading the negotiations said 39.3 per cent of bondholders have signed up to exchange their Greek government bonds for new debt. However, 75 per cent is the...
GBP/USD trims gains following positive US data
6 Mar at 6 PM
News Item Link: GBP/USD trims gains following positive US data
The pound trimmed gains on the US dollar yesterday after better-than-anticipated US economic data dampened expectations for further Federal Reserve easing measures, according to forex-rateit.com.
GBP/USD fell back from a daily high of 1.5874 to hit 1.5853 in US morning trade, a rise of 0.12 per cent. Cable was expected to find support at...
Pound extends gains on US dollar
6 Mar at 9 AM
News Item Link: Pound extends gains on US dollar
The pound extended its gains against the US dollar yesterday, after largely positive economic data from the US supported market sentiment amid lowered expectations for more Federal Reserve monetary easing.
The sterling reached $1.5960 in morning trading in the US, subsequently consolidating at $1.5966, rising 0.31 per cent, reported...
Currency exchanges affecting life abroad for UK expats
5 Mar at 6 PM
News Item Link: Currency exchanges affecting life abroad for UK expats
Expats, pensioners and holiday homeowners are selling up and returning home in large numbers – or at least sending their foreign money back to Britain.
UK-based foreign-currency brokers are reporting a massive amount of foreign money being converted back into pounds from overseas. At the same time, property companies from overseas have...
Euro and Australian dollar hit by profit taking
1 Mar at 3 PM
News Item Link: Euro and Australian dollar hit by profit taking
The commodity currencies and the euro suffered heavy losses in Asian trading today as investors cut commanding positions after key events such as the European Central Bank’s injection of cash passed without surprise, reports Reuters.
The euro dropped from close to three-month highs after banks in Europe took on 530bn euros of cheap...