Market News

The U.S. Dollar touched on a 3-week high against the common currency during the Asian trading session, following Friday’s U.S. jobs report which was not only better than expected but revised upward the two previous months data.

The Euro and other commodity-linked currencies earlier overnight gains as the Greek government edged further from a messy default. Earlier in the session, the Euro was trading against the U.S. Dollar at $1.3274, a gain of 1% which came on the back of news that Greece was close to securing its debt swap deal.

The Japanese Yen fell against the U.S. Dollar in Asian trading today following a report that showed that the Japanese current account posted a record deficit in January, the first time in three years.

Greek worries return to the fore as investors assess whether or not the debt-saddled country can satisfactorily pull together a deal to swap out maturing debt with new issuances.

The Reserve Bank of Australia announced earlier that it would make no changes to its current interest rate, set at 4.25%, though it held on to the easing bias discovered with the most recent reading of the minutes.

The U.S. Dollar fell against the Japanese Yen as investors decided to take profits following the recent rise to a 9-month peak; analysts say that U.S. Dollar buying is limiting losses in the short term.

The common currency Euro held steady against the U.S. Dollar and edged higher versus the Australian Dollar in Asian trading.

In Asian trading, the U.S. Dollar came up off of a 3-month low versus a weighted basket of currencies following Ben Bernanke’s speech yesterday which this time around did not allude to the possibility of additional easing.

The Euro edged higher in Asian trading, accompanied by other commodity-linked currencies as investors have pinned their collective hopes on today’s LTRO offering from the European Central Bank.

The Japanese Yen slipped further from the 9-month trough struck yesterday as end of the month buying by Tokyo-based exporters helped propel it through a correction.

In Asian trading, the Japanese Yen continues to be under pressure, sliding on Monday to a 9-month trough against the U.S. Dollar.

In Asian trading, the Euro held close to a 2½ month peak against the U.S. Dollar, given a lift from unexpectedly improved German IFO business sentiment which promoted traders’ short covering.

In Asian trading, the Japanese Yen edged higher versus the U.S. Dollar but remains within striking distance of a 7-month through as Japanese importers support the greenback.

As reality settles in, the Euro is finding itself under renewed pressure, as investors consider worries of growth woes and implementation risks for the Mediterranean nation.

Following the news that the Eurozone’s policymakers have finally agreed on the deal which would give Greece the €130 billion needed to avoid a messy default, the Euro rose against the U.S. Dollar and traded at a high of $1.3293.