Optimism has returned (at least for now), and that has Forex traders looking to riskier assets in the hopes of making a litte extra money. There has been some profit taking as well, since the euro has performed so poorly against the US dollar in recent days.

Greenback is moving inversely to stocks, which got a boost today on some good earnings news out of the financial sector (not from JP Morgan, though). Additionally, the Junewholesale prices data is out, and it appears that prices rose 0.1%. Without food and energy, wholesale prices rose 0.2%. Apparently, the drop in energy prices is helping bring a little balance back to some of the price levels.

For now, it appears that the global economy might hold its own, and that has some breathing a little easier — and the US dollar heading a little lower.

At 13:53 GMT EUR/USD is up to 1.2231 from the open at 1.2203. GBP/USD is up to 1.5523 from the open at 1.5428. USD/JPY is down to 79.1295 from the open at 79.3450.

Source: live forex news

Risk appetite has returned to the markets — at least for now. Right now, there is a little optimism as the news in the United States and China share reasonably good news. Even with the losses from the London Whale, JP Morgan’s earnings for quarter two beat expectations. Speculation is also that China will add more economic stimulus. With these indicators that the global economy could be supported, Forex traders are more inclined to take risks on high beta currencies like the euro.

However, there are still plenty of challenges ahead for the euro. Even though the euro is benefitting from some optimism, as well as a return to risk appetite, we can’t forget the fundamentals. There is still a sovereign debt crisis happening in the eurozone, and there is still uncertainty with regard to what’s next for the European Stability Mechanism, and with regard to  long-term solutions for the 17-currency region.

At 14:31 GMT EUR/USD is up to 1.2237 from the open at 1.2203, and off a low of 1.2162. EUR/GBP is down to 0.7870 from the open at 0.7910. EUR/JPY is up to 96.9455 from the open at 96.7850.

Source: live forex news

Better economic for the eurozone isn’t helping much today. Indeed, analysts expected a 3.2% decline in May industrial data for the eurozone; instead, the decline was 2.8%. This better than expected news isn’t outweighing other concerns, though. Forex traders are are focusing on some of the other realities associated with the markets right now.

Worries about how the eurozone periphery will get through the current debt crisis, as well as finding long-term solutions to prevent this happening in the future, are high on the list of items holding the euro down. Also not helping is the latest news out of China. China doesn’t appear to be growing its reserves, and it seems that a lot of the support the euro has garnered recently has been the result of China adding more euros as it diversifies away from dollars. However, with reserves in China no longer growing, the euro is losing one area of support. Risk aversion isn’t helping the situation, either.

At 14:24 GMT EUR/USD is down to 1.2180 from the open at 1.2238. EUR/JPY is down to 96.5250 from the open at 97.6350. EUR/GBP is actually rising, though, moving up to 0.7900 from the open at 0.7894.

Source: live forex news

Right now, concerns about the global economy, and uncertainty about the situation in the eurozone, are weighing on markets. Risk aversion is high right now. Concerns that the United States isn’t ready to ease further are an issue, as is softer Chinese data. And, of course, no one is sure what will happen next in the eurozone saga. With all this uncertainty, it isn’t a surprise that safe haven currencies like the Japanese yen are preferred right now.

The yen is also getting a boost from its relatively high yield. We don’t normally think of the yen as a high yielder, but in the current environment, the 0.1% rate set by the Bank of Japan seems downright competitive — especially when compared to the 0% rate the ECB brought into effect this week.

At 13:37 GMT EUR/JPY is down to 96.5420 from the open at 97.6350. USD/JPY is down to 79.2700 from the open at 79.7660. GBP/JPY is down to 122.3835 from the open at 123.6550.

Source: live forex news

Analysts estimated, before the report from the Australian Bureau of Statistics that will be released on July 12, that Australia’s employment rose by meager 300 jobs in June, compared to the growth by 38,900 in May. Moreover, the unemployment rate is expected to rise by 0.1 percentage point to 5.2 percent. Other markets were also negative for riskier currencies like the Aussie: the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index dropped 0.2 percent and the MSCI World Index declined 0.4 percent. That did not prevent the currency from rallying after the earlier decline.

AUD/USD climbed from 1.0206 to 1.0234 as of 10:34 GMT today, while earlier it fell to 1.0158.

Source: live forex news

Manufacturing production rose 1.2 percent and industrial production increased 1.0 percent in May from April, while little change was expected. The trade balance deficit (seasonally adjusted) fell to £8.4 billion in Mayfrom £9.7 billion in April. The RICS UK Housing Market Survey was a notable exception to the set of good data, showing that the seasonally adjusted net house price balance dropped from -17 to -22, meaning that 22 percent more surveyors recorded price falls rather than rises.

EUR/GBP fell from 0.7930 to 0.7916 as of 12:32 GMT today. GBP/USD traded at 1.5498, following the earlier surge from 1.5526 to 1.5551.

Source: live forex news

Forex traders are looking for direction as they vacillate between disappointment and optimism. There is still a lot to consider, though. The eurozone still has plenty of hurdles to overcome, and concerns about have the euro paring some of its earlier gains against the UK pound. Sterling is also paring some of its gains against the US dollar as worries about what European finance ministers will actually be able to accomplish balance against high hopes for the future.

Last week, the Bank of England expanded the asset purchase program while keeping the interest rate the same. The result of this quantitative easing is likely to be some weakness for the pound, although continued disappointments in the eurozone could lead to gains against the euro, even as the pound drops against the dollar.

At 14:11 GMT GBP/EUR is up to 0.7925 from the open at 0.7922. GBP/USD is up to 1.5500 from the open at 1.5479. GBP/JPY is up to 123.4425 from the open at 123.2550.

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Eurozone finance ministers are preparing for a meeting in which they will discuss some of the measures that the European ummit suggested to fight the sovereign debt crisis threatening the eurozone. Some of the euro’s gains are being pared following comments by European Commission leaders indicating that government guarantees won’t be needed for future recapitalizations of rescue funds.

The news takes some of the pressure off governments already struggling. However, there are still a number of issues to work out. Even though a lot was decided at the European Union summit last month, the how of carrying out the ideas has yet to be worked out. Finance ministers are meeting to discuss the more practical aspects of what should be done. The hope that something meaningful will be done is providing some help to the euro as it struggles off its earlier lows, moving toward gains. There is still enough uncertainty to hold the euro back, however.

At 13:06 GMT EUR/USD is up to 1.2292 from the open at 1.2263. EUR/GBP is up to 0.7936 from the open at 0.7922. EUR/JPY is up to 97.8345 from the open at 97.6500.

Source:live forex news

Yesterday, the ECB cut rates, but, according to President Mario Draghi, there are no plans to use measures that are considered non-standard to help boost the eurozone economy. The BOE went ahead and expanded its asset purchase program, and many would like to have seen the ECB take that tack. However, Draghi indicated that such measures weren’t even discussed, and that has many disappointed with the outcome.

Forex traders are also looking at the announcement from European leaders from last week, and realizing that it really does nothing to solve problems and pull the eurozone out of its funk. There might be some long-term help on the way — if the agreements hold up — but in the short-term not much has changed, other than the ability of countries to access bailout funds.

At 14:57 GMT EUR/USD is down to 1.2308 from the open at 1.2391. EUR/GBP is down to 0.7937 from the open at 0.7983. EUR/JPY is down to 97.9260 from the open at 0.9783.

Source: live forex news

Earlier today, the US non-farm payrolls report for June was released. The result was somewhat disappointing. Even though there was a gain of 80,000 jobs in June, the numbers were off the expectations for 100,000 jobs. A lot of the disappointment comes from monthly averages. In Quarter 1, the average monthly job gains were 226,000, while in Quarter 2 that slowed to an average 75,000.

It seems as though the fledgling US economic recovery is slowing already, and that news, combined with concerns about a eurozone recession, and Chinese slowing, is resulting in a risk averse atmosphere. So, even though the economic data is disappointing for the United States, the US dollar is still considered the safe haven of choice. And, when compared with the problems plaguing the eurozone, the US dollar seems like the much better bet.

At 15:05 GMT EUR/USD is down to 1.2275 from the open at 1.2391. GBP/USD is down to 1.5479 from the open at 1.5524. USD/JPY is lower at 79.6360, down from the open at 79.9155.

Source: live forex news