Market News

In very light London trading, the U.S. Dollar lost value against the Euro as well as a basket of major currencies today. Traders are actively reducing their long positions in the greenback before the end of the year, in what are the last two remaining trading days of 2008. According to a UBS currency strategist, investors don’t want to be exposed and in the wrong position as they head into a new fiscal year, so they’re actively clearing out their current positions.

The U. S. Dollar fell today, hobbled by a bleak outlook for the economy of the United States as well as the move by the U.S. Federal Reserve bank which released additional liquidity into the U.S. banking system. However, the Swiss Franc rose on geopolitical risks because of the air strikes by the Israeli warplanes on the Gaza Strip over the past three days. The Pound Sterling continued its downtrend, slipping to a record low versus the Euro and a group of currencies in early trading in London, as bleak economic data and expectations that interest rates in the United Kingdom will fall below interest rates in the Euro zone negatively impacted the Pound Sterling.

Versus a basket of currencies and the Japanese Yen, the U.S. Dollar lost ground in very thin holiday trading today while investors braced themselves for economic data from the United States that is likely to add to an already grim outlook on the future of the American economy.

The U.S Dollar dropped versus the Euro and a group of currencies today as investors awaited a series of economic data from the United States, which will be released later in the day, in order to find clues on the extent of the long recession.

Despite very thin trading during this holiday week, the Euro saw some gains in early morning trading today versus the U.S. Dollar. Meanwhile, the Japanese Yen lost ground against the Euro, as investors risk aversion eased somewhat. Last week, the Euro saw significant losses against the U.S. Dollar; as a daily percentage, trading was at its lowest point in almost 2 months. All indications show that investors and analysts alike believe that the Federal Reserve rate cut was too severe.

The Euro fell across the board today, as currency traders took profits from the Euro’s surge to a 2½ month high versus the U.S. Dollar and its highest level ever against the Pound Sterling. The U.S Dollar dropped near to its lowest price in nearly 13 years versus the Japanese Yen, reversing short gains made following the interest rate reduction by Japan’s central bank, as a dismal economic situation in the United States continued to take a bite out of the U.S. currency.

The U.S. Dollar fell to its lowest price in 2½ months versus the Euro today and hovered around its weakest price versus the Japanese Yen since 1995, because investors rid themselves of the U.S. Dollar this week, as a result of the recent policy moves by the U.S. Federal Reserve.

The U.S. dollar fell today, hitting its lowest level in more than a decade versus the Japanese Yen and also falling versus the Euro, after the U.S. Federal Reserve cut interest rates sharply to the lowest possible, compared to other major economies.

The Euro eased slightly versus the U.S. Dollar, while the Japanese Yen gained across the board as investors expect the U.S. Federal Reserve to cut interest rates to almost zero.

The U.S. Dollar hit a 2-month low versus the Euro and a group of currencies today, as investors moved out of the U.S. Dollar due to uncertainty surrounding the future of the ailing U.S. car makers and the negative impact it would have on the economy should they fail.

The U.S. Dollar bottomed out to a new 13 year low versus the Japanese Yen in London trading today, following the overnight failure of the U.S. Senate to ratify a bailout agreement for the major U.S. auto makers, which triggered risk aversion and a strong demand for the lower yielding Japanese Yen.

The Euro hit a 6-week high against the U.S. Dollar today as investors are pondering whether the projected restricted demand for the Greenback would materialize by the year-end. Analysts, such as Adam Cole of London-based RBC Capital Markets, believes that although there was originally a strong consensus that U.S. Dollar requirements would push the currency higher toward year’s end, that doesn’t appear to be materializing.

Both the U.S Dollar and the Japanese Yen fell today as some investors were comforted by a tentative bailout arrangement between the U.S. lawmakers and the big three auto makers. It appears that the House of Representative in the U.S. could vote soon on the $15 billion bailout plan and restructure the three auto makers. However, the bailout plan is likely to face some significant roadblocks from the U.S. Senate.

The Japanese Yen rose broadly today, even versus an otherwise upbeat U.S. Dollar, recovering from previous day’s losses as investors re-direct their attention to the global economic weakness.

The Euro fell versus the U.S. Dollar today following growing risk aversion, prior to the release of U.S. employment figures. According to most analysts, the U.S. data will show a sharp decline because of the intensity of the global economic downturn.