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Japanese yen keep its levels after BOJ’s meeting

ecPulse

2013-05-22 07:08AM UTC

Japanese yen traded today without any noticeable changes in its rates after the BOJ’s meeting, where the Bank of Japans decided to refrain from adding stimulus with keeping the previous monetary base in order to reach the targeted 2% inflation.

Form another side, Japanese yen’s movements ignored the current incline in 5-yearr governmental bonds.

Japanese yen showed downward trend versus dollar and other major currencies, where investors are still monitoring the market before investing in yen.

USD/JPY pair recorded its highest today at 102.63 after starting today’s session t 102.42, while the EUR/JPY pair inclined to record its highest in week at 132.67.

Australian dollar noticeably declined today versus its counterpart American dollar after the recent fall in Australian consumer confidence, which negatively affect on Australian dollar’s demand.

AUD/USD pair fell to record low of 0.9765 after starting at 0.9816, where the currency showed positive performance since the beginning of the week.

Pound declines on weak retail sales data, BoE minutes; Yen falls after BOJ

Fx News Today

2013-05-22 10:46AM UTC

The Japanese yen dropped to a three-year low against the euro after Bank of Japan (BOJ) policy makers affirmed a plan to double the monetary base over two years and their statement made no reference to rising bond yields.

Board members of the BOJ decided during keep the nation’s interest rate unchanged for another round between zero and 0.10% to spur the world’s third largest economic growth, to ultimately meet the long-sought 2% inflation.

Japan`s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe pledged to reach the nation’s 2% inflation target within two years as he called for unlimited easing plans, which boosted Japanese economy during the previous period.

Japan’s currency declined after report showed the trade deficit swelled more in April than economists forecast and exports were lower than estimated. Merchandise trade balance fell to -879.9 billion yen in April compared with analysts’ expectations of -620.6 billion yen.

The USDJPY pair is currently trading around ¥102.91 while recording the highest level of ¥102.98 and lowest levels of ¥102.34. The trading range for today is among key support at 101.15 and key resistance at 103.75.

The euro rose to a 3-1/2 year peak against the yen, EURJPY pair is currently trading at 133.12 after opening at 131.68.

Royal pound declined on Wednesday as well after a report showed U.K. retail sales fell unexpectedly in April, while minutes from Bank of England`s May 9 meeting showed that the call for additional stimulus by governor Mervyn King was overturned by other policymakers for the fourth consecutive month.

Minutes showed David Miles, Paul fisher and Governor Sir Mervyn King, have failed to sway collegues to join the camp and call for an expansion of asset purchases.

As for the GBPUSD , it dropped sharply from a high of 1.5171 to trade around 1.5100. The trading range for today is among key support at 1.4995 and key resistance at 1.5285.

The general trend over short term basis is to the downside as far as areas of 1.5770 remains intact targeting 1.4355.

The dollar is seen volatile before the Federal Reserve Chairman’s Ben S. Bernanke testimony before the Congress and also ahead the Federal Open Market Committee release minutes of its most recent policy meeting.

The greenback is currently trading at 83.98, compared with the session’s opening of 83.87. The USDIX has so far recorded an intraday high of 83.99 and a low of 83.77.

Gold up ahead of Fed minutes, Bernanke testimony eyed

Fx News Today

2013-05-22 06:32AM UTC

Gold edged up on Wednesday, trading around its 2-year lows as strong Chinese demand, pushed prices higher while comments by official eased concerns that U.S. central bank may soon exit its bullion-friendly bond purchases. Gold rose on Wednesday to hit a high of $1401.27 in the previous session following Moody’s said U.S. policy makers must address rising debt ratio to avoid a credit-rating downgrade this year, boosting gold’s safe-haven appeal. As of (09:19 GMT+3) gold for immediate delivery gained 0.07 percent or 0.93 points to trade at $ 1,378.98 after opening at $1,374.21, having earlier hit a high of $1,381.02, and a low of $1,372.03. Gold has been pressured by fears the Federal Reserve may scale back or halt its monthly $85 billion bond purchases after some Federal Reserve officials said the central bank should end its stimulus for the U.S. economy, slashing gold’s appeal as a hedge against inflation. Some officials in the U.S. called earlier this week for an early end to the Fed’s stimulus given recent progress in the U.S. jobs sector. However, New York Fed President William Dudley and St. Louis Fed chief James Bullard made clear that further progress in the economy was needed before they would support pulling Fed’s stimulus program. Among other commodities: - Silver rose 0.19% to $ 2 2.56 - Platinum gained 0.46% to $ 1,465.50 - Palladium inched 0.29% down to $ 746.00 Investors will be eyeing Fed’s Chairman Ben S. Bernanke, as he is scheduled to testify before the Joint Economic Committee of Congress later in the day for clues about recent talks over tightening the central bank`s monetary policy. The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) is set to release minutes of the April 30-May 1 meeting on Wednesday as well. FOMC is expected to give a hint on the expiry date of its quantitative easing. Tighter policies would strengthen the dollar, causing gold to become more expensive to holders of other currencies, while signs of further quantitative easing is seen as positive for gold on the long-term – a hedge against inflation and currency weakness. The USDIX is currently trading around 83.90 after opening at 83.87, after hitting a high of 83.96 and a low of 83.77. Gold holdings in the SPDR Gold Trust fell 0.8 percent on Tuesday to 1,023.08 tones, the lowest in more than four years. Holdings of the largest silver ETF, the iShares Silver Trust are at the lowest since mid-January, reports showed.

Crude may extend losses on higher inventories ahead of Bernanke testimony

Fx News Today

2013-05-22 07:14AM UTC

Crude oil may extend its losses on Wednesday ahead of Bernanke`s testimony later in the day, as concerns over demand from the world`s top oil consumer were triggered following the unexpected rise in crude stockpiles last week. Besides the housing and retail sales data set for later in the day from the U.S. and UK, investors are awaiting the U.S. Federal Reserve chief Ben Bernanke`s testimony amid believes the bond-buying stimulus has further to run. Adding to the downside pressures on oil was the report by the American Petroleum Institute released Tuesday and which showed that U.S. crude oil stockpiles rose by 532,000 barrels last week although inventories were expected to drop. The U.S. Energy Information Agency (EIA) will release its data on inventories later on Wednesday. The report may show that crude oil stockpiles fell by 1 million barrels last week, while gasoline inventories may have dropped by 300,000 barrels. Adding to the worries over demand from the world`s top oil consumers was a report showing that China’s crude inventories rose 0.1% in April from a month earlier to 28.7 million metric tons, a three-month high. China accounted for 11% of global demand in 2011. - Crude is trading around $95.80 a barrel with the highest at $95.96 and the lowest at $95.51 - Brent is trading around $103.62 a barrel as of this writing after falling 0.28% or $0.29 Some support however was provided by the confidence that returned to most Asian stock markets after investors were reassured that global central banks would not reduce their economic stimulus programs too early. Bank of Japan kept monetary policy steady today and raised its assessment of the economy citing rising exports and solid demand, while Bank of England later in the day will publish minutes from this month`s Monetary Policy Committee meeting. Investors will also be watching the European Council Summit in Brussels today, but the minutes of the last Fed meeting, which might give further details of how it will eventually exit quantitative easing, will drag most of the attention. Meanwhile, the dollar’s movement may play a role in the oil’s movement. The dollar index is trading around 83.55; oil tends to move inversely against the dollar as it reduces the appeal of the dollar dominated commodities. - Natural gas is trading at $4.224 per cubic feet after rising 0.76% - Gasoline is trading at $2.8245 a gallon after falling 0.75% - Heating oil is trading at $2.9139 a gallon after falling 0.52%