Forex Trading

The announcement of a quantitative easing program by the Fed sent the Dollar dramatically lower against the major currencies. Traders may look to compound on the large price adjustment as short term forecasts are predicting further weakness in Dollar denominated pairs.



USD - USD Strength Not Likely to Return this Week

Last week's decision by the Federal Reserve to buy up U.S. Treasury securities has generated one significant result: an across-the-board sell-off of the USD. Jumping an unprecedented 334 points against the EUR directly following the announcement last Wednesday, the Dollar has continued to take hits through the end of last week and today. Two primary results occurred as a result of this sell-off. The first, as was just mentioned, was a volatile decreasing movement in the Dollar's pairs and crosses. The second was a subsequent rise in the value of commodities like Crude Oil, which hasn't seen such an upward movement since September.

With the global economy worsening consistently over the previous few months, major economies, such as the United States, are taking whatever measures they can to salvage their economic systems before a collapse takes place. One investment maneuver undertaken by many traders during economic hard times is to invest in a safe-haven currency, like the USD. This explains the influx of Dollars being purchased over the preceding months, which likewise drove the value of the USD to an inflated high. One perception of the recent turn of events might state that the USD is not crashing down or weakening, but rather, returning to its more realistic value.

One thing many forex traders can be sure of is that the downward movement of the USD is not likely to cease in the short-term. At the moment, the U.S. Federal Reserve is basically printing almost $1 trillion worth of new currency. Regardless of any speculation about future price levels, the present moment dictates that the greenback must come down, at least for now. The economic calendar might lend some strength to the USD in the form of potentially positive housing data, however. Could this information be enough to prevent the continued fall of the Dollar?

EUR - Will the EUR Hold its Recent Gains?

A bullish EUR appears to be the order of the day lately. After the U.S. Federal Reserve announced its quantitative easing program, the EUR climbed to a high not seen in months against its primary currency rival, the USD. Shooting above the 1.3700 mark last Thursday and Friday, the pair appears to have settled down slightly at the beginning of this week starting with a small increase in value from 1.3582 to 1.3656 so far. Against the Pound, the EUR has also seen some small gains in today's early trading hours; currently trading at 0.9416.

While many analysts anticipate the USD to grow significantly weaker in the coming days, there is also talk of similar quantitative easing strategies being implemented in the Euro-Zone by the European Central Bank (ECB). If such a move were to be taken by the ECB there is a possibility of a mad dash to sell-off the EUR similar to what occurred to the USD last Wednesday. Could there be a race to the bottom between these 2 currencies?

Most importantly this week, traders are going to see a sizeable amount of economic data from the Euro-Zone, primarily on Tuesday with the announcement of multiple French and German manufacturing and production figures. If we see a continuation of negative data from this region, there is a high possibility of the Euro-Zone implementing measures similar to what the Fed did for the U.S. economy. If this happens, expect the EUR to put a halt to its recent gains, and most likely reverse against most of its pairs and crosses by sometime this week or next.

JPY - Yen Weakness Prevalent at the Start of this Week

The JPY has seen some odd behavior this past week. Appreciating against the USD directly after the announcement of the Fed's new quantitative easing program, the JPY actually lost value against most other currencies. This highlights two important analytical points. First, the USD's recent weakness is due to the Fed's program and not a coincidental strengthening of other currencies. Second, the JPY is in fact weakening as a result of monetary policies undertaken by the Bank of Japan (BoJ) recently.

Trading up at 96.38 against the USD, and down at 131.82 against the EUR, the JPY may actually begin to post steady losses throughout this week due to recent actions by the BoJ to lower the value of the Japanese currency in an effort to boost exports. A steady release of economic figures this week may demonstrate the inherent weakness of the JPY and thus push its value lower against all currency pairs, or it could show that the Japanese economy is beginning to rebound and thus spark a trend reversal for the Yen. Only time will tell.

OIL - Oil Rises beyond $50 a Barrel; Upward Movement to Continue?

As part of the weakening USD seen last week, the price of Crude Oil has seen a corresponding increase in value. The price for a barrel of Crude Oil climbed above the $50 mark last Friday and appears to be continuing in an upward direction. No doubt the quantitative easing taking place in the U.S., thereby weakening the Dollar, has carried an impact on the price of this commodity since it is traded in Dollars.

Secondly, the price for a barrel of Crude Oil is affected by supply as much as it is affected by the strength of the USD. With production cuts beginning to take effect, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) has declared that Crude Oil prices appear to be stabilizing and may return to a more suitable price level in the nearest future. As long as the USD continues to weaken and equity markets remain in a somewhat bullish posture, the price for a barrel of Crude is not likely to go south anytime soon.

Article Source - A New Valuation for the Dollar