The dollar weakened sharply yesterday after Fed Chairman, Ben Bernanke, in his testimony before the House Financial Services Committee said the Fed is ready to ease monetary policy further if the economy weakens and inflation moves lower. The currency then dropped further after Moody’s put US debt under review for possible downgrade, warning that the US could loose its AAA rating if the authorities fail to raise the country’s debt ceiling and the government misses debt payments. The dollar selling, however, has run out of steam and the currency …

Majors traded in relatively narrow ranges overnight as markets await today’s key US non-farm payrolls report. Yesterday saw better than expected ADP private sector employment numbers and many in the market are now expecting that total payrolls will have increased in June by more than the recent consensus forecast of 90,000.
Yesterday was a day of two halves for the euro. The decision by the ECB to hike rates by 0.25% to 1.5% had been factored in and the single currency slipped further ahead of the post meeting press conference. There …

The euro fell yesterday following news that Moody’s had downgraded Portuguese debt to junk status, warning that the country may need a second round of rescue funds. There had already been a somewhat weaker tone to the euro. Factors such as weak PMI and retail sales data for the region and speculation that China may raise rates at the weekend, which was dampening risk sentiment, were weighing on the single currency. The sell-off following the news of the Portuguese downgrade, however, proved short lived and the euro regained much of …

Greece and eurozone debt issues in general remain a dominant market factor. The euro made good gains last week as fears of a Greek default eased. It extended these gains over the weekend, to a one month high to the dollar, after EU finance ministers approved the next instalment of Greece’s bailout funds. The euro, though, is off its highs this morning with S&P warning that a debt rollover plan for Greece may put the country into selective default.The euro has also been supported by expectations that the ECB will …

The euro has edged cautiously higher versus the dollar over recent trading sessions, but met with resistance around the $1.4330 level as markets wait to see if the Greek parliament will approve austerity measures that are necessary for the country’s next round of funding from the EU/IMF. The country is to be hit by a 42 hour general strike today and tomorrow, also leaving investors cautious. It was originally thought that the vote would be today but it may not take place until tomorrow or Thursday at this stage. As …

After sharp falls yesterday (as traders bought up the dollar following the tone of the Fed’s Wednesday evening press conference and on the back of some disappointing eurozone data) the euro found some support late in the day and overnight on the news that Greece had reached agreement with the EU and IMF on the details of an austerity plan that should bring it closer to securing its next round of funding. The deal includes deep spending cuts and more tax hikes but must still be passed by the Greek …