US Dollar Up As Trading Improves

Added: December 28, 2010

US dollar recovers somewhat against yen. US dollar down on Swiss franc.

During the Tuesday currency trading session, the US dollar recovered in afternoon trading in particular against the Japanese yen. Against the yen, the US dollar has been at a six week low. The US dollar did manage to hit a new record low against the Swiss franc during the trading session.

US Dollar

The movement in the marketplace surrounding the US dollar was due to numerous factors including a weak auction of the United States government bonds that sent yields higher. That helped to make the US dollar a more attractive currency in the market. Earlier in the session, and in previous weeks, traders steered away from the US dollar as the traders viewed the dollar as more weak than others. Both the euro and the UK pound are considered more risky investments, and during the trading session, both were somewhat lower.

The US dollar index moved the Us dollar from 80.34 as of the end of the trading session in North American trading on Monday to 80.367 by the end of the day on Tuesday. During the session, the US dollar index fell to a low of 79.595.

The biggest factor affecting the currency was a cooled reception of the US government’s sale of five year notes. This pushed yields up significantly. Nevertheless, trading volume for the day was still very low, with the London markets closed and with the week being a holiday one for many traders.

Yen

Against the Japanese yen, the US dollar moved from Y 82.81 as of the end of trading on Monday to Y 82.45 by the end of the day Tuesday. The US dollar did fall as low as Y 81.79 during the currency, which is a low it has not been at since the middle of November.

Euro

Against the euro, the US dollar moved from US $1.3148 as of the end of trading on Monday to US $1.3119 by the end of the day Tuesday. During the session, it was able to climb as high as US $1.2148.

UK Pound

During the trading session Tuesday, the UK pound fell to US $1.5380. The UK pound fell by 0.6 percent for the day against the US dollar.

Swiss Franc

Also notable was the movement of the US dollar to the Swiss franc. The US dollar hit record lows against the franc, to around 0.9432 by the end of the session. It lost 0.4 percent for the day.

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US Unemployment Claims Drop Real?

Posted by Jim Kelly at Dec 31, 2010 03:05 AM

The drop in US unemployment claims was good news but is it real? What I mean is that the Christmas season may have distorted this number because the forecast is that unemployment will remain high for another couple of years. The January figures will be more revealing because in December a lot of people get seasonal jobs and drop off the unemployment rolls temporarily. Maybe I’m being a pessimist but with massive layoffs still occurring, businesses and banks holding on to almost 2 trillion dollars and most hiring happening overseas (outside the US) according to the recent news reports, it’s difficult to get too excited about the unemployment claims drop. But if unemployment figures are really headed downward then maybe there won’t need to be a QE3.

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Volatile Brazil Real

Posted by Andrew McCartney at Dec 31, 2010 03:05 AM

The Brazil real is also worth watching closely. Brazil has hinted at more intense currency intervention if it continues to rise. Inflationary pressures are increasing and Brazil is going to have to tighten credit availability and cut back on spending. Otherwise, the central bank will have to raise interest rates. It doesn’t want to do that unless it has to because that will only attract inflows of speculative capital. The real has risen approximately 3% this calendar year but that might be tough to do in 2011. If the real keeps rising, exports are going to be hurt. What Brazil is already dealing with in the areas of inflation and interest rates is a precursor to what other countries are going to be facing in 2011.