Greece’s Bailout Delayed, Swiss Franc Jumps June 20th, 2011

The Swiss franc advanced today as the European Union leaders considered withholding half of the €12 billion portion of the Greek aid, increasing demand for safety of the Swiss currency.

This measure was intended to encourage Greece to perform necessary reforms. Half if the rescue package should be enough to support the country in the short term, but pressure to continue spending cuts will remain. Elena Salgado, the Minister of Economy and Finance of Spain, thought that the aid should be provided in full, stating after the four-hour discussion: “You can’t divide it.”
USD/CHF fell from 0.8490 to 0.8427 today as of 14:36 GMT. EUR/CHF dropped to 1.2063 from 1.2133 after posting the intraday low of 1.2016.

If you have any questions, comments or opinions regarding the Euro, feel free to post them using the commentary form below.

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11:18 AM | 0 comments

Week Ended Positively for Euro

The situation with Greece’s debt was hurting the euro during this week, but by the end of the week traders glimpsed a light in the end of the tunnel. New hopes for Greece emerged and that helped the European currency to erase losses.

The beginning of the week didn’t bode well for the shared 17-nation European currency. The European Union leaders were divided on their views about measures to tackle the debt problems of Greece and the Greek government was in the face of collapse. The euro was trying to rise at first, but than abruptly dropped.
The end of the week brought unexpected, but welcomed, change to the Greek story. German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy reached an agreement, the International Monetary Fund provided a loan to Greece and German banks may participate in the bailout for Greece. Investor sentiment towards the euro improved and the currency rebounded. It hasn’t been able to erase losses against some of its most-traded peers, but at least the losses were reduced.
EUR/USD closed at 1.4310, almost unchanged from 1.4322, after going as high as 1.4497 and falling as low as 1.4072 during this week. EUR/JPY slipped from 115.03 to 114.54, while EUR/CHF rose from 1.2078 up to 1.2137.
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9:34 AM | 0 comments

Australia’s Dollar Suffers from Europe’s Problems

The Australian dollar weakened as the unending troubles in Europe drove stocks and commodities to the downside, reducing appeal of currencies linked to economic growth.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index dropped 0.4 percent. The MSCI World Index fell as much as 1.1 percent. The Thomson Reuters/Jefferies CRB Index of raw materials declined 0.6 percent, following the drop by 2.3 percent yesterday, the biggest slump in five weeks.
Takuya Kawabata, the researcher Gaitame.com Research Institute Ltd., explained the performance of the Australian currency:

The risk-off mood is dominant in the markets because of concerns over Greece and a slowdown in the U.S. growth, sending stocks and commodities lower. In this environment, money wouldn’t find its way into commodity currencies such as the Aussie and kiwi.

AUD/USD traded at 1.0555 today as of 1:49 GMT after falling yesterday from 1.0575 to 1.0557. EUR/AUD traded near 1.3441, following the advance from 1.3400 to 1.3449. AUD/JPY traded at about 85.08 after yesterday’s drop from 85.60 to 85.13.
If you have any questions, comments or opinions regarding the Australian Dollar, feel free to post them using the commentary form below.

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3:46 AM | 0 comments

Australia’s Dollar Suffers from Europe’s Problems

The Australian dollar weakened as the unending troubles in Europe drove stocks and commodities to the downside, reducing appeal of currencies linked to economic growth.
The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index dropped 0.4 percent. The MSCI World Index fell as much as 1.1 percent. The Thomson Reuters/Jefferies CRB Index of raw materials declined 0.6 percent, following the drop by 2.3 percent yesterday, the biggest slump in five weeks.
Takuya Kawabata, the researcher Gaitame.com Research Institute Ltd., explained the performance of the Australian currency:
The risk-off mood is dominant in the markets because of concerns over Greece and a slowdown in the U.S. growth, sending stocks and commodities lower. In this environment, money wouldn’t find its way into commodity currencies such as the Aussie and kiwi.
AUD/USD traded at 1.0555 today as of 1:49 GMT after falling yesterday from 1.0575 to 1.0557. EUR/AUD traded near 1.3441, following the advance from 1.3400 to 1.3449. AUD/JPY traded at about 85.08 after yesterday’s drop from 85.60 to 85.13.
If you have any questions, comments or opinions regarding the Australian Dollar, feel free to post them using the commentary form below.

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3:42 AM | 0 comments