Forex

The statement of B7 indicated that exchange rates should be determined by markets not by the Central banks

Asian and European trading sessions:

Euro: The EUR / USD pair fell $ 1.3370 during the Asian session. However, later the euro currency was supported by the positive results of the Spanish bond auction which showed decent demand for the assets. Spain was able to sell its 6 and 12 –month mature bonds for amount of E5.57 billion with a yield similar to the yield at the previous auction. Total demand reached 13,311 billion. The EUR / USD pair rose to a maximum of $ 1.3465 during the European session.

British Pound: The British pound fell to a six -month low against the dollar ;the GBP / USD pair fell to the low of $ 1.5570 during the European session the after the consumer price index in the UK in January showed increase up to 2.7 % compared to the same period of the previous year, in a monthly term. Thus, the annual inflation rate in the UK in January was confirmed at the high level that firmly held above the target level of the Bank of England.

Japanese Yen: The pressure on the yen had the words of Deputy Secretary of the Treasury, Lael Brainard, who said yesterday in Washington that he supports the efforts of Japan to overcome deflation and wake up economic growth in the country. The USD / JPY pair retreated from the previous day's highs during the Asian session. On the next following session the couple was held at the highs of Y94.3 levels amid the issued today statement of B7 which indicated that exchange rates should be determined by markets, and the central banks are not able to weaken or strength their national currencies. The USD / JPY pair rose to Y94.41 after the release of the statement then fell to the previous levels.

American trading session:

U.S. Dollar: The dollar index suffered today big intraday down fall and dropped below the area of 80.00 after published statement of the G-7 on the commitment to market exchange rates.

Swiss franc: The dynamics of the Swiss franc against its rivals slightly were influenced after the Swiss National Bank announced that it will continue to hold the franc against the euro at the rate of CHF1. 20 and if necessary, will be ready to take additional measures.

Canadian dollar: The Canadian dollar traded higher this session against the U.S. dollar, after big move of the USD /CAD pair on the previous session after the Chinese Cnooc Ltd. was authorized to purchase the assets of the U.S. Nexen Inc., breaking the recent regulatory hurdles and thus completing the deal on acquisition of Canadian oil producer for $ 15.1 billion . The drop of the pair continued even despite the fact that the head of the Bank of Canada Governor Mark Carney said that the need to raise key interest rates in Canada now is not on the agenda as it was before.

Gold: The Gold prices grew today recovering from the yesterday’s deep lows. The asset was also supported by the decrease of the U.S. currency rate which occurred after the Group of Seven industrialized countries (G- 7) reaffirmed the commitment to market exchange rates. The February futures price of gold rose to 1652.50 dollars per ounce on COMEX today.

Oil: The cost of oil has been held up during the day at the highest level in a week, after the OPEC increased its forecast for oil demand this year. The prices of oil were also positively affected by the statements of the G-7, which promised to avoid the rate devaluation. The March futures price of WTI type of Oil rose to the highs of $97.77 per barrel on the NYMEX.