BS:Forex Trading and Currency Exchange Rates – Dollar and Franc Gain while Euro Plummets
(Best Syndication News) The dollar advanced against most major currencies today while the euro declined (see forex tables below). Both gold and the dollar jumped as investors look for safe havens.
World FX
The U.S. dollar gained 0.27 percent versus the Aussie, 0.51 percent versus the euro, 0.44 percent versus the yen and 0.53 percent versus the pound sterling (see average rates below). The U.S. currency fell slightly versus the Swiss franc and Canadian dollars.
Throughout the day the dollar continued to gain (see the intraday chart below). The greenback gained 0.12 percent against the Japanese yen, 0.54 percent against the euro, 0.17 percent against the pound sterling and 0.36 percent versus the Australian dollar. Only the Canadian continued to beat the U.S. dollar.
The Swiss franc was the big winner today (see cross charts below). The euro was the big loser. The pound fell 0.223 percent vs the Aussie and 0.558 percent vs the Hong Kong dollar.
World Economic News
The Westpac–Melbourne Institute released their Leading Index report Wednesday. The institute tries to predict the pace of economic activity three to nine months into the future.
The economic growth rate was 2.7% in April 2011. That is below the long term trend of 3.1%. “The annualized growth rate of the Coincident Index was 0.3%, well below its long term trend of 2.9%”, Westpac said in their statement.
“The scale of the impact of weather disasters on the economy’s ongoing growth momentum is becoming more apparent,” their chief economist, Matthew Hassan, said. “After previously running at just over 5%, the six month growth rate in the Index has been marked down to just 2.7%. That is marginally below the long term trend rate, indicating sub-par growth, but not overly weak. Moreover there are signs that the worst of the hit has passed with the growth rate rising from the 2.3% rate recorded for February.”
The Federal Reserve Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) said that the economic recovery continues but is “somewhat” slower than expected. Unemployment continues to be a problem, the FOMC said in a statement.
The Fed admitted that inflation has picked up, but this has had a negative effect on consumer purchasing power. There have been supply chain disruptions due to the March 11 earthquake in Japan and housing picture is still bleak.
Although there are no plans for a QE3 program, some economist speculate that the Fed will continue to apply some monetary pressure. “The Committee will regularly review the size and composition of its securities holdings and is prepared to adjust those holdings as appropriate,” the Fed said today.
