As NY traders enter for the trading day, the CAD and the USD are the strongest of the major currencies.
The strongest and weakest currencies as NY traders enter for the day.
Oil prices are down on the day but off the lows. The USDCAD made new highs (highest levels since May 2009) but has run into some profit over the last few hours of trading. The pair is back below the spike high from Monday at the 1.1839 level (now close resistance). Traders might be nervous about a rebound in the CAD after what has been a strong uptrend since December 31 which saw the pair move up from a low of 1.1564 to a high of 1.1867. The 38.2%-50% of the last leg higher comes in at 1.1798-1.1814. If sellers are taking back control (i.e. profit taking), a move below this area would be a clue. The highs post the spike on Monday were around the 1.1814 level as well (broken in yesterday’s trading).
USDCAD made new highs but has run into selling.
The greenback is strongest against the JPY which is being hurt today by a stronger stock market. The JPY is also the weakest currency. The JPY was the strongest currency yesterday as global stock market declines led to the flow of funds into that currency.
USDJPY rebounds
The Euro Stoxx index which was down 4% over the first few trading days of the year, has rebounded about 1.3% in trading today.. The US Dow Futures are up around 120 points.
A snapshot of the stocks and bonds (8 AM ET).
The dollar is also strong versus the EUR which has seen increasing weakness as CPI inflation fell -0.2% vs +0.3% last month and -0.1% estimates. The core CPI did rise however from the previous month to +0.8% from +0.7%. The Unemployment rate in the EU remained steady at 11.5% (but German unemployment fell to 6.5% – a record low).
