Market News

With the eyes of the world’s investors focused squarely on Washington, D.C., Federal Reserve Chairman Janet Yellen reiterated that, for the time being, the central bank would maintain its current ultra loose monetary policy

The U.S. Dollar remains range-bound as FX traders wait to hear what Janet Yellen, the head of the Federal Reserve Bank, will have to say at her testimony before the U.S. Congress which will take place later today.

FX traders remain wary of the Australian Dollar following RBA Governor Glenn Stevens’ recently published interview in which he states that investors seem to be underestimating the threat of a too strong Aussie Dollar that could,

The possibility that the Portuguese banking system may be on the verge of a crisis which could have wide spread implications for the Eurozone banking system has sent FX investors flocking to the safe haven Japanese Yen which, as a result, is poised to close out the week higher.

Yesterday, the Federal Reserve Bank released the minutes from June’s policy meeting which offered some relief to investors who were anxious to determine whether the Fed would take on a hawkish bias or not.

In otherwise lackluster trading the New Zealand Dollar experienced only a slight loss of last week’s positive momentum after the country received an upgrade of its sovereign debt rating which had pushed the Kiwi to a 3-year high.

The U.S. Dollar’s recent rally in the wake of last week’s upbeat labor data has waned during Asian trade. Analysts say that with U.S. corporate earnings reports due out this week, investors have turned cautious and pushed U.S. Treasuries lower which then put pressure on the greenback.

Financial markets are still basking in the afterglow of the unexpectedly robust labor report from the U.S. Department of Labor which was released last Thursday, even after a foreshortened workweek as the result of the Independence Day holiday.

Asian shares rose to a three-year peak on Friday and the dollar held near its overnight highs after U.S. jobs data showed the lowest unemployment rate in six years and underscored the strength of the economic recovery.

The release of private sector labor data from U.S.-based ADP which showed that 281,000 new jobs were added in July helped to lift the U.S. Dollar and kept up the bullish momentum in the Asian trading session.

European stocks advanced for a second day, following yesterday’s biggest gain in almost two months, as investors awaited reports on U.S. jobs and factory orders. U.S. index futures were little changed, while Asian shares rallied.

With the likelihood that the Federal Reserve’s FOMC will maintain monetary policy with ultra low interest rates for an extended period, the U.S. Dollar Index traded at a 7-week trough during the Asian session, extending June’s decline.

During the Asian trading session, the U.S. Dollar languished close to a 1-month trough after suffering from the largest weekly fall in two months as a result of disappointing economic data pushed investors to the sidelines and dampened the greenback’s allure.

Get the trading schedule information for the upcoming July 4th holiday here.

In lackluster trading and as investors focused on currencies with higher yields, the New Zealand Dollar managed to carve out gains and then hovered close to a 3-year peak.