Sterling Outperforms After Strong Economic Data

Ohhhh the Brits!!!! It's all about sterling baby!!! Start buying...?!?! Post comments below!

Sterling is one of the top performing currencies on Tuesday on the back of some strong economic data in the overnight.

Earlier in the day, the UK’s visible trade deficit fell to £6.784 billion in November, further than calls for a decline to £7.0 billion from a revised £7.016 billion in October.

Exports were up 0.1% month-over-month, while imports declined 0.8%.

In the immediate aftermath of the release, sterling, already under pressure from gains in the USD, rallied 14 pips to 1.6112 before reaching an intraday high at 1.6194 several hours later.

Also supporting the gains was an earlier report from the British Retail Consortium, which said that retail sales rose 6.0% year-over-year in December after a 4.1% gain the month prior.

GBP/USD last traded 64 pips higher at 1.6179 after trading in a range of 1.6063 to 1.6181 today. Support lies at 1.6054 and 1.6050 followed by 1.5955 and 1.5900. There is resistance at 1.6194.

Meanwhile, EUR/GBP last traded 221 pips lower at 0.89840, after trading in a range between 0.89623 and 0.90282. Short term support is at 0.8923 with resistance at 0.9055.

CHF Falls After More Intervention Talk from SNB

Omg is this possible...the swiss frank is going downhill!!! Does that mean it will be cheaper for us to buy chocolate or cheese?!? hehe. or go on luxurious ski trips to Gstaad or St. Moritz? I sure hope so!!! :)

The Swiss Franc is weakening after talk of more currency interventions from the Swiss National Bank.

Earlier on Monday, SNB Chairman Philip Hildebrand said the central bank will act to prevent an “excessive appreciation” of the Swiss franc, promising to “monitor foreign-exchange developments very closely.”

Trader says the SNB intervened earlier this morning to support the currency against the U.S. dollar and euro.

Indeed, EUR/CHF jumped 38 pips to an intraday high of 1.4795, while USD/CHF spiked 33 pips to 1.0205.

In the past, policy makers have expressed a particular desire to control the franc’s gains against the euro, Switzerland’s largest trading partner.

SNB board members feared that a stronger Swiss franc will cause deflation, a scenario which the central bank is mandated to prevent.

EUR/CHF last traded higher by 7 pips at 1.4760 after trading in a range of 1.4724 to 1.4795 today. Support lies at 1.4724 with resistance at 1.4795 and 1.4827.

Meanwhile USD/CHF last traded lower by 85 pips at 1.0152 after trading in arrange between 1.0131 and 1.0242. Resistance lies at 1.0420 with support at 0.9988.

EUR/USD Ignores Economic Data Ahead of U.S. Nonfarm Payrolls

Even More.....Oh Boy....

EUR/USD has largely ignored a series of mixed economic data for the region on Friday, as markets await nonfarm payrolls.

Ahead of the key economic release for the United States, EUR/USD traded lower by 15 pips at 1.4291.

The moves come after a barrage of economic news for the region, including final Q3 euro zone GDP being unrevised, with the economy growing 0.4% quarter-over-quarter, as expected. Annual growth, however, was revised lower by 4.1% despite calls for no change to the preliminary reading of a 4.0% pullback.

Meanwhile, the Euro zone unemployment rate rose to 10.0% in November from the upwardly revised 9.9%. Forecasts had been for an increase to 9.9% from an unrevised 9.8% level.

Over in Germany, the trade surplus surged to €17.4 billion in November, above calls for a decline to €12.5 billion from €13.4 billion the month prior, with exports up 1.6% month-over-month, faster than forecasts for a 0.8% increase but slower than October’s 1.9% pickup.

Also, German industrial production advanced 0.7% month-over-month in November, short of calls for a 1.0% increase and faster than October’s 1.7% pullback. Annual production down 8.0%, faster than calls for a 7.8% fall, but slower than the prior 12.3% contraction.

So far today, EUR/USD has traded in a range of 1.4276 to 1.4335 so far today. Short term support lies at 1.4258 with resistance at 1.4484.

Euro Under Pressure After Series of Broadly Negative Data

Ohhhhhhhhh the Euro is under..... Pressure!!!! What did i tell you guys about the Euro..we got to watch out...!!!

The euro is under pressure on Thursday after a broad bout of downbeat economic data throughout the morning.

German retail sales fell 1.1% month-over-month in November despite forecasts for a 0.3% increase and prior flat reading, and annual sales were down 2.8% compared to expectations for a 1.7% contraction and prior 1.6% pullback.

Also, German factory orders rose 0.2% month-over-month in November, short of forecasts for a 1.5% increase and partially offsetting a 1.9% decline in October, while annual sales were down 1.8%, faster than calls for a 0.2% decline and prior 8.2% pullback.

Turning to the euro zone, retail sales fell 1.2% month-over-month in November despite forecasts for a flat reading and the prior 0.2% gain, and annual sales contracted 4.0%, faster than forecasts for a 1.9% decline and prior 1.3% decrease.

The only real good news was euro zone business climate index rising to -1.22 in December, above expectations for an increase to -1.43 from -1.53 the month prior, while the economic confidence index expanded to 91.3, also above expectations for a reading of 90.0 and the prior 88.8. Consumer confidence index increased by one point to -16 as expected in December.

EUR/USD was under added pressure throughout the morning after the People’s Bank of China tightened monetary policy by selling three-month bills at a yield of 1.3684%, the first increase in 19 weeks. Traders say the move constitutes monetary policy tightening as it means higher interest rates in the region.

The move also served to strengthen the USD to which the Chinese yuan is tied.

Ahead of the opening Bell on Wall Street, EUR/USD last traded lower by 72 pips at 1.4333 after trading in a range of 1.4299 to 1.4447 so far today. Short term support lies at 1.4258 with resistance at 1.4484.

Euro Under Pressure After ECB Member Says No Bailout for Greece

Hey everyone, I am in Athens and it is freezing here. looks like another thing that is dropping degrees is the Euro... check out this article i found and enjoy reading it as much as I did..

The euro is under pressure on Wednesday after comments from European Central Banker Jurgen Stark telling Il Sole 24 Ore that investors must not assume that the EU will bail out Greece.

"Whoever believes that, at the end, the European Union state member will put their hands in their pockets to save Greece, will end up deluded," said the central banker.

Although he affirmed that Greece would likely deal with its fiscal problems without any outside aid, Stark was firm saying that a bailout should not be a foregone conclusion.

Responding to Stark’s comments in an interview with Bloomberg TV, Greek Finance Minister George Papaconstantinou said the country will not need a bailout to tackle its budget problems, and that Stark’s comments were misplaced.

"Frankly we don't need that clarification," Papaconstantinou told Bloomberg Television. "We don't expect to be bailed out by anybody as, I think, it is perfectly clear we're doing what needs to be done to bring the deficit down and control public debt."

The comments are significant to the euro which fell heavily in December after ratings agencies downgraded the country’s sovereign debt rating to levels substandard to ECB open market operations.

EUR/USD last traded lower by 15 pips at 1.4349 after trading in a range of 1.4284 to 1.4383 so far today. Short term support lies at 1.4258 with resistance at 1.4484.

FX Ignores German Employment Report

Merkel, are you going to make some changes or not?! What is this woman thinking??? Her country is going downhill and we need to see some changes. I will be heading off to a different country in Euro soon and will post what I find. Lets think good thoughts for our German brothers!!!

Foreign exchange markets essentially ignored an in line unemployment report from Germany earlier this morning, despite some mild optimism in the numbers.

Earlier on Tuesday, German unemployment unexpectedly fell by 3k jobs for December despite calls for a 5k increase, and November’s 7k decline was revised to a 1k pullback.

The unemployment rate, however, remained unchanged at 8.1% as expected.

Meanwhile, the number of vacancies in German firms increased to 13k, a strong gain compared to the previous month’s 5k pickup.

The data bodes well for the euro zone’s largest economy as it suggests that the labour market in the region is in the process of bottoming out, a positive for the European currency.

Sadly, the euro failed to make any meaningful moves given the proximity of the results to the consensus forecasts.

So far today, EUR/USD has traded in a range of 1.4387 to 1.4484. Short term support lies at 1.4258 with resistance at 1.4536.

After the market open on Wall Street EUR/USD gave up its lead against the USD and last traded lower by 12 pips at 1.4401.

Sterling Spikes After Upbeat Manufacturing and Lending Data

Hello Chaps!!! I am still in London... and look what I got my hands on...It is all about the pund baby...looks like it's coming back..going to follow this and see what happens!

The pound sterling was given a lift on the back of some upbeat manufacturing data and better than expected credit statistics on Monday.

The UK manufacturing PMI surged to 54.1 in December, above calls for an improvement to 52.0 from 51.8 the month prior.

The data implies an acceleration in manufacturing activity for the UK with any reading above the 50-point threshold implying economic growth.

Details of the report were also strong, with the new orders index at its highest level in 29 months and the decline in jobs the slowest since May 2008.

Released simultaneously, UK net consumer credit fell £0.4 billion in November, less than calls for a £0.5 billion decline and prior £0.6 billion shortfall.

The move was led by an increase in mortgage lending for the month, which picked up to £1.5 billion compared to the previous month’s £1.1 billion level. Expectations had been for lending to total £1.0 billion.

Meanwhile, mortgage approvals rose to 60.5k from 57.7k the month prior, further than calls for a 58.0k pickup.

In line with the better than expected results, GBP/USD picked up 41 pips to 1.6210 before hitting new intraday highs at 1.6241. Short term resistance lies at 1.6248 with support at 1.5833.

By Erik Franco, erikf@fxtraderacademy.com