US dollar hits 5-day high against Icelandic krona, Wednesday, September 24, 2008 7:22:11 AM

During early European deals on Tuesday, the US dollar climbed to a 5-day high against the Icelandic krona. The dollar also showed strength against its Scandinavian counterparts.

Against the Swedish krona, the US dollar traded higher during early deals on Wednesday. At 5:30 am ET, the dollar-krona pair reached a high of 6.5855, compared to 6.5766 hit late New York Tuesday. The pair is currently trading at 6.5774.

The Swedish central bank and the Federal Reserve agreed today on a US billion swap facility in order to improve liquidity conditions in global financial markets. The swap facility will expire on January 30, 2009.

Sweden`s economic tendency indicator, which measures business and consumer confidence in the economy, rose marginally to 86.0 in September from 85.6 in August, results of the latest economic tendency survey released by the National Institute of Economic Research, or NIER, showed today.

Further, the survey found that confidence in the Swedish manufacturing sector continued to decrease in September. The corresponding indicator fell to minus 14 from minus 12 in August. In July, the indicator logged minus 11. The September reading was in line with the consensus forecast.

The confidence indicator for the Swedish industry as a whole declined to minus 2 from minus 1 in August and plus 4 in July. On the other hand, the consumer confidence index rose to minus 14.4 from minus 16.5, while economists were expecting the index to fell to minus 17.

The US currency that closed Tuesday`s North American session at 5.6157 against the Norwegian krone edged higher to 5.6239 at 3:55 am ET Wednesday. The dollar-krone is now worth 5.6115.

Against its Danish counterpart, the greenback showed strength during Wednesday`s early deals. At about 4:05 am ET, the pair reached 5.0972, compared to Tuesday`s closing value of 5.0938. The pair is currently quoted at 5.0850.

Denmark`s national statistics office said today that the consumer confidence index rose to minus 11.1 in September from minus 12.2 in August.

The US dollar traded higher against the Icelandic krona during today`s early deals. At 5:35 am ET, the dollar-krona pair hit a 5-day high of 95.49, compared to Tuesday`s North American session close of 94.67.

The Statistics Iceland announced that the Consumer Price Index or CPI rose 14% year-on-year in September, smaller than the 14.5% rise recorded in August, which was its fastest pace since June 1990. Economists had expected for an increase of 14.2%. This was the first decline in the annual inflation rate since January.

The greenback that closed yesterday`s New York deals at 3.4201 touched a low of 3.4083 against the Israeli shekel at 5:45 am ET Wednesday. The dollar-shekel pair is currently trading at 3.4143.

The US dollar largely bounced between 8.17 and 8.10 against the South African rand during Wednesday`s early deals. The dollar-rand pair that closed Tuesday`s deals at 8.2037 is now worth 8.1525.

In central bank action, the Norges Bank is expected to announce its latest interest rate decision at 8am Eastern Time.
The economic reports scheduled for release in the U.S. include existing home sales for August and MBA mortgage applications for September. Additionally, investors may focus on Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke`s testimony at Congress` joint economic committee.

Source | Forex News | http://forexfx-news.blogspot.com/2008/09/us-dollar-hits-5-day-high-against.html

Dollar Advances Against Most East European Currencies, Wednesday, September 24, 2008 7:35:36 AM

The dollar advanced against the Czech koruna, Slovakian koruna and Polish Zloty during early deals on Wednesday. But the dollar weakened against the Turkish lira and the Hungarian forint, but moved range-bound versus the Estonian kroon

From US, the existing home sales report is scheduled at 10:00 am ET today. The US Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke`s testimony at Congress`s Joint Economic Committee is also scheduled at 10:00 am ET.

The dollar climbed to a 2-day high of 16.5750 against the Czech koruna by about 7:00 am ET Wednesday. The pair was worth 16.4800 at Tuesday`s close.

Against its Turkish counterpart, the dollar showed weakness during Wednesday`s early deals. At about 3:10 am ET, the dollar-lira weakened to 1.2374, compared to Tuesday`s closing value of 1.2453. Thereafter, the dollar has gained slightly and is presently trading at 1.2423.

The Turkish statistical office, Turkstat said the Production Workers Index rose 0.6% year-on-year and stood at 85.8 in the second quarter from 86.2 recorded in the first quarter. In the first quarter, the number of production workers was up 1.7%. A year-ago, the index was up 2%.

Against the Hungarian forint, the dollar fell after rising to a 2-day high of 164.64 by about 4:05 am ET. Presently the pair is trading at 164.07, compared to Tuesday`s closing value of 164.76.

In economic news, the volume of retail sales in Hungary declined year-on-year in July, a report by the Hungarian Statistical Office said today.

Retail sales volume fell a calendar-adjusted 1.8% in July compared with a 1.9% decline in June. The sales volume at current prices increased to HUF 556.7 billion from HUF 535 billion in the previous month. On a monthly basis, retail sales declined a seasonally and calendar adjusted 0.1% in July compared with a 0.3% fall in the previous month.

The US currency that was worth 20.6720 against the Slovakian koruna at yesterday`s close, hit as high as 20.6850 by about 7:00 am ET Wednesday.

The US dollar started ticking up against the Polish Zloty by about 2:45 am ET Wednesday. The dollar climbed from 2.2430 to 2.2697 by about 7:20 am ET. The pair was worth at 2.2607 Tuesday`s close.

The greenback largely moved sideways against the Estonian kroon during Wednesday`s early trading. The greenback largely bounced between 10.6850 and 10.6420, compared to 10.6470 hit late yesterday in New York. As of now, the pair is trading at 10.66.

Source | Forex News | http://forexfx-news.blogspot.com/2008/09/dollar-advances-against-most-east.html

U.S. Dollar Holds Steady but Further Weakening Expected - Wednesday, October 06

In Asian trading today, the U.S. Dollar held steady versus the Japanese Yen, but the market is merely waiting for the greenback to further soften once the Federal Reserve Bank takes additional quantitative easing measures, as most investors anticipate they will.

November 2nd and 3rd will be the next scheduled meeting of the Fed’s Open Market Committee; speculation that additional steps will be taken by the central bankers in an effort to spur on the sluggish economy is practically a foregone conclusion. As reported at 2:50 p.m. (JST) in Tokyo, the U.S. Dollar held at 83.17 Yen, just off Tuesday’s late trading in New York of 83.18 Yen.

Investors will use this week’s release of payroll data to help gauge any potential movements by the Fed. Economists are predicting that non-farms payroll data will show an increase in new jobs by 20,000; in August, approximately 10,000 jobs were shed. Should the forecast prove incorrect, expect that the U.S.

Dollar will be more aggressively sold, with a target of 82.90 Yen, nearing the level at which the Japanese Ministry of Finance intervened. Whether or not Japan will intervene again remains to be seen, as many investors feel certain that it would not be any time soon, given the recent quantitative easing measures taken by the Bank of Japan.