Forex

The U.S. Dollar got support after retail sales in the U.S. increased considerably in February

Asian and European trading sessions:

Euro: The Euro weakened against the background of weak results of the published data on industrial production and growth in the yield of Italian debt securities. In details, the industrial production declined in January in the 17countries of the Euro zone, confirming the recent data which demonstrated the weakness of sector in the 1st quarter of this year. The data showed that industrial production in the euro area in January fell by 0.4% compared to December, after rising 0.9% the previous month. The Italy has sold bonds worth 6,993 billion Euros against the target value of 7.25 billion Euros. The yield of the bonds with a term expiration in 2015 was at 2.48% versus previous 2.30% and the papers expiring in 2017 at 2.95% versus 2.55% bonds previously. The yield of the bonds expiring in 2018 was also higher. The EUR / USD pair during the European session fell to $ 1.2924.

British Pound: The GBP / USD pair rose to $ 1.4950 during the Asian session and continued higher at the. European session climbing to $ 1.4981 Pound was higher against its counterparts amid the background that many analysts have noted that the decline of 6.5% in this year was excessive, which increases the possibility that the government will delay fiscal austerity measures in the budget next week.

Japanese Yen: The yen rose against most major currencies against the disagreements in the Japanese parliament on the proposed candidates for senior positions of the Bank of Japan. The USD / JPY pair fell to the Y95.89 area during the Asian session. The currency was also supported these sessions due to the fact that the largest opposition party informed about it yesterday that it would vote against a potential deputy head of the Bank of Japan, Kiku Iwata, which stands for acceleration of the easing policies. The USD / JPY pair fell to Y95.45 during the European session.

New Zealand dollar: The New Zealand dollar fell against all its major counterparts on concerns about the drought in the country which may continue thus influence negatively the New Zealand economy. In connection with these events, there can be changes in the monetary policy of the Central Bank of New Zealand. The Reserve Bank will hold a meeting of the country on matters of monetary policy tomorrow.


American trading session:

U.S. Dollar: After the report on retail sales in the U.S. showed that in February the sales increased considerably, registering the largest increase in the past five months, and improving the prospects for the world’s largest economy the dollar rose against its competitors. In details, The retail sales and the sale of food in February rose by 1.1 % for adjusted amount of $421.40 billion. The sales demonstrated their biggest increase since September and beat the Economists expectation of growth only by 0.5%.  The sales increased by 4.6% comparing with the same period at the last year. The jump in prices for the most part was secured by the higher prices for gasoline and an increase in car sales.

Gold: Prices of gold futures rose to the level of $ 1,600 per troy ounce, which was associated with the publication of disappointing data on industrial production in the euro area. The April futures price of gold declined on COMEX and now stands at 1587.75 dollars per ounce.

Swiss franc: The Swiss franc fell today, as many market participants were waiting for the meeting of the National Bank of Switzerland on the issue of monetary policy, which may considered providing measures that could help stop the deflation and stimulate economic growth.

Oil: The U.S. Energy which showed an increase in oil and a significant decline in gasoline inventories last week pushed the oil prices higher today above $ 93 per barrel. The April futures price of U.S. light crude oil WTI rose to 93.20 dollars a barrel on the NYMEX.