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The Dollar is likely to go volatile during and following the speech by President Obama today at 16:00 GMT. Meanwhile, forex traders are advised to take positions on trades, as a few of data releases coming out of Euro-Zone and Britain are likely to affect the greenback’s main currency crosses.

USD – Dollar Finishes a Week of Falling Trends

During last week’s trading session, traders that went short on the dollar made profits. The dollar dropped over 300 pips against the Euro, around 400 pips against the Pound, and slid about 350 pips against the Yen.

The Dollar weakened in light of some negative data published from the U.S economy. The U.S Trade Balance report for July showed that the difference between imports and exports increased by 16 percent, the most since 1999. The gap rose to $32 billion from a revised $27.5 billion in June. Also last week, The U.S Consumer Credit, which measures the change in the total value of outstanding consumer credit that requires installment payments, dropped by 21.6$ billion in July.

The end result of this indicator was five times lower than forecasted by analysis, and thus has a negative impact on the Dollar. The Unemployment data from the U.S continues to be bleak. It’s been the 35th week in a raw on which over 500,000 individuals have filed for unemployment insurance for the first time. It appears that until the employment condition will take a turn for the better, the Dollar might continue to weaken.

Looking ahead to this week, a batch of data is expected from the U.S economy, including the Retails Sales Indices, the Producer Price Induces, the Consumer Price Indices, the Long-Term Purchases, the Building Permits and the weekly Unemployment Claims. Traders are advised to follow all these publications very closely as positive result from these indicators might have the potential to reverse the current bearish trend of the greenback.

EUR – Mixed Results from the Euro-Zone Creates Volatility for the EUR

The Euro underwent a very volatile session during last week’s trading. The EUR rose significantly against the Dollar, lifting the EUR/USD pair above the 1.4600 level. However the Euro dropped against the Yen, and saw mixed results against the Pound.

The Euro began last week’s session with rising trends against the major currencies thanks to a positive Factory Orders figures from the German economy. This indicator measures the change in the total value of new purchase orders placed with manufacturers. Analysts predicted a rise of 2.0% during July, yet the end result showed that factory orders rose by 3.5%, increasing for the fifth consecutive month.

However the bullish trend reached its end following poor Industrial Production data from both Germany and France. This indicator is a leasing indicator of economic health as production reacts quickly to ups and downs in the business cycle. Thus, the negative figures showed that it is still soon to declare that the Euro-Zone has pulled out of recession, and that the leading economies of the Euro-Zone are still tumbling.

As for this week, many interesting publication are expected from the Euro-Zone. The data which seems to have the potential to impact the Euro the most is the German ZEW Economic Sentiment report, expected on Tuesday 09:00 GMT. It is a survey of about 350 German institutional investors and analysts who are asked to rate the next 6-months economic outlook for Germany. This report usually has an immense effect on the market, and a positive figure might have the potential to boost the EUR.

JPY – JPY Rises Against the Majors

The Yen rose last week against all the major currencies. The Yen appreciated about 350 pips against the Dollar, sending the USD/JPY pair as low as the 90.16 level. The Yen also soared around 200 pips against the Euro and about 350 pips against the Pound, marking an all around bullish session.

The Yen’s sharp bullish movements last week appears to be a correction to the over-weak Yen. It is a widely known that the Bank of Japan (BoJ) sees the weak Yen as the main tool to support the Japanese exporters in the attempt to recover the economy. Japan continues to hold the lowest Interest Rates in the industrial world, and the BoJ is making other steps as well, all in the effort to weaken the Yen. The key target that exporters are holding for the USD/JPY pair is around 94.50, and a lower rate might have severe consequences on the Japanese economy. However for now it seems that investors are still seeing the Yen as a safer haven then most of the major currencies and thus the JPY continues to strengthen.

As for the week ahead, The Japanese Interest Rates for September will be declared on Thursday. The BoJ is likely to leave interest rates, also knows as Overnight Call Rate at 0.10%. However, in case that the BoJ will surprise and will choose to alter rates, this is likely to have a large impact on the Yen. Either way, traders are advised to follow the press conference which is expected short after, as some interesting slues regarding future monetary system might be scattered.

Crude Oil – Crude Oil Drops towards $68 a Barrel

Last week’s trading session started with a massive bullish trend for crude oil, which lasted until Friday. A barrel of crude oil was traded for 72.50 at its peak. However, a sudden change happened then, dropping crude oil towards $68 a barrel.

It seems that oil prices dropped as a result of an appreciation of the Dollar since Friday, and some concerns that Crude Oil became over-valued following a week of straight rising trends. It also looks that a few unsatisfying results for financial indicators have increased fear that global economies may not recover as soon as expected, which will likely weaken demand for oil.

Looking ahead to this week, traders are advised to follow the Dollar’s value, and the U.S equity markets, as they tend to set the tone in crude oil trading. In addition, traders should also pay attention to the Crude Oil Inventories report scheduled for Wednesday, as its result has proven to have a large impact on crude oil’s value.

Article Source – Obama Speech to Impact Dollar

The US Dollar raced higher to start the trading week as stocks sold off in Asian trading and US equity index futures pointed to a sharply lower open on Wall St in the day ahead. New Zealand Retail Sales unexpectedly fell in July. Swiss PPI and Euro Zone employment and industrial production figures are on tap ahead.

Key Overnight Developments

• New Zealand Retail Sales Unexpectedly Drop in July as Unemployment Rises
• US Dollar Surges As Stocks Drop in Asian Trading, Boosting Demand for Safety

Critical Levels

The US Dollar pummeled both the Euro and the British Pound to start the trading week, with both currencies falling as much as -0.6% against the greenback as stocks sold off in Asian trading and US equity index futures pointed to a sharply lower open on Wall St in the day ahead. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index slid -1.5% while futures tracking the Dow Jones Industrial Average suggested US issues would open down 1.6%.

Asia Session Highlights

New Zealand Retail Sales unexpectedly fell in July, shrinking -0.5% and disappointing expectations of a 0.4% result. The previous month’s result was also revised lower, showing sales fell -0.1% rather than grew by the same magnitude as was originally reported. The release reinforces last week’s comments from Reserve Bank of New Zealand Governor Alan Bollard, who said the medium term outlook for retail spending “remains weak” as unemployment continues to rise. Indeed, the jobless rate hit a 9-year high of 6% in the second quarter and central bank expects it to surpass 7% by the end of next year. Bollard also linked continued turmoil in the labor market to the New Zealand Dollar, saying the stronger currency puts business profits “under pressure” and warning that “If the exchange rate were to continue its recent appreciation…the sustainability of the present recovery will be brought into question.”

Euro Session: What to Expect

The annualized pace of contraction in Switzerland’s Producer and Import Prices is expected to have slowed to -5.5% in August from the record-low -6.1% set in July. The outcome follows a similar moderation in consumer prices during the same period and foreshadows slightly better results for the headline inflation gauge in the months ahead. However, as we detailed in our weekly Swiss Franc forecast, it is much too early to say that the specter of deflation has dissipated, so the Swiss National Bank is unlikely to abandon their commitment to direct intervention into the currency markets to keep down the value of the Franc when monetary policy is announced later this week.

The second-quarter Euro Zone Employment report is unlikely to prove market-moving: traders have likely priced in the state of the market already having seen the monthly unemployment gauge rising steadily higher since June of last year, most recently hitting a record 9.5%. Separately, Industrial Production is expected to shrink -16.7% in the year to July, extending the moderation in the pace of contraction that began after the record -21.2% annualized drop in April driven by both domestic and global fiscal stimulus as well as the inventory restocking cycle. However, a downside surprise may be in the cards after German industrial production unexpectedly fell during the same period.

Written by Ilya Spivak, Currency Analyst
Article Source – US Dollar Surges as Stocks Drop in Asian Trading, Boosting Demand for Safety (Euro Open)