Following Wall Street’s rally last Friday, April 18, 2008 and the hopes that the liquidity crisis may be over, the U.S. Dollar traded firmly against major currencies in early trading on Monday in Sydney. On April 21, 2008 at 10:10 am (00:10 GMT) the U.S. Dollar traded at 103.88 Yen, compared to 103.67 Yen, while the Euro traded at $1.5808 compared to $1.5818 in late trading on Friday in New York.
According to some analysts, trading in Asia this week will remain volatile because of rising U.S. Dollar, which is likely to push the U.S. Dollar above the 105.00 Yen level.
On Friday, April 18, 2008, the U.S. Dollar surged past the 103 Yen following a strong rally in the U.S. stock market. Concerns over inflation are likely to slow down future interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve. According to Charles Plosser, President of the Philadelphia Federal Reserve, interest rate cuts is not the solution to all economic problems and that the current interest rates are low enough to support economic growth.
Most analysts are anxiously anticipating this week’s U.S. economic data, especially the housing market data.