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Today's better than expected manufacturing reports from China, the Euro Zone,
the U.K, and the U.S. seem to indicate that investors have accepted the possibility
that the global economy may have righted itself and is now poised to improve
even further.
Because of these recent friendlier economic events, Forex traders may begin
to focus on central bank activity this month rather than just the economic
reports. On Thursday, August 6, the Bank of England and the European Central
Bank each meet to discuss their current interest rate policies and to release
their outlooks for the recovery.
The market seems to have already accepted the possibility that the Bank of
England will announce the end to its asset-buyback program. The European Central
Bank is likely to leave interest rates unchanged, but renew its hawkish economy.
It seems that almost anytime there is talk of an economic recovery, the ECB
reintroduces its stance on the possibility of inflation.
The U.S. Fed meets on August 12th. This will be its first meeting since June
and there will be a lot to talk about including the recovery from the recession
and possible discussion of an exit strategy. Recently Bernanke said an exit
strategy is difficult to time but with new economic information to work with
since the last meeting, he may offer more clarity at the next meeting.
Looking at the markets today, the GBP USD surged to the upside on a surprise
increase in a key manufacturing report. While investor gains have been limited
recently because of talk of the U.K.'s huge budget deficit, this currency pair
continued to maintain a bullish tone until the buyers finally showed up the
past week.
The EUR USD finally crossed its June top after holding in a range for almost
two months. Appetite for risk helped encourage traders to buy the Euro to take
advantage of the higher yield. Gains may be limited if the ECB comments on
the high price of the Euro and its possible negative effects on Euro Zone exports.
The strong surge in energy products and equities helped drive the USD CAD
sharply lower. Like the Euro, the Bank of Canada may issue a comment regarding
the rapid rise in the Canadian Dollar and its possible negative effect on Canadian
exports. The Bank of Canada does not meet this month so any statement from
the BoC is likely to carry some weight.
Strong demand for higher yielding assets helped trigger an upside surge in
the AUD USD and the NZD USD. Look for the trend to continue as long as there
is an appetite for increased risk. Since Australia and New Zealand both rely
on exports to drive their economies, watch the exports numbers to see if the
high prices are having an adverse effect.
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