The dollar has quietly slipped against the yen in this week’s currency trade while remaining mostly flat against other major counterparts including the Euro and British Pound. A less than stellar round of economic reports Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday (June 30) morning have cast a dark cloud over optimism for economic recovery.

A slew of mixed economic reports Thursday (June 24) morning reinforced the economic uncertainty of the Federal Reserve’s post-meeting announcements Wednesday in which statements were somewhat pessimistic about the pace of economic recovery.

As analysts and investors await the Federal Reserve’s announcement on interest rates later Wednesday (June 23), oil prices are trading below $78 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Oil has been closing in on $80 per barrel recently, but the major catalysts for the slight midweek dip include a negative outlook in Europe and uncertainty with regard to levels of supply and demand of US crude inventories.
In late London trade, the price of a barrel of benchmark crude for August delivery is currently near $77.50, down 39 cents from …

As soon as investors think it is safe to invest in growth opportunities and more risky plays, economic concerns pop up somewhere in the world. The US is still trying to figure out if it is truly in economic recovery mode with job worries remaining and Europe is burdened with debt-ridden economies.

The Euro appears to be relatively stable this week, with a current rate of $1.2304. It actually reached a Wednesday morning (June 16) high of $1.2355 before receding a bit in the mid morning trade.

With the currenct sharp bounce on the Euro and British Pound we have to now be asking the question, will we get better rates of exchange this year compared these recent low levels? Or is there further weakness to come?