US Dollar mixed in Forex Trading today.

The U.S. dollar has been mixed today in forex trading against the other major currencies since the start of the day at 00:00GMT. The American currency has been trading higher versus most of the major currencies but lower versus the Canadian dollar and British pound sterling.

The euro has fallen versus the dollar today as the EUR/USD has dipped from its 1.4232 opening at 00:00 GMT to trading at 1.4195 in the U.S. trading session at 2:37pm EST according to currency data from Oanda.

The British pound has advanced against the USD as the GBP/USD has gone from its 1.6478 opening exchange rate to trading at 1.6501 usd per gbp. The dollar has advanced versus the Japanese yen and trades at 95.13 after opening at the day at the 94.18 exchange rate.

The dollar has continued to fall versus the Canadian loonie as the USD/CAD trades at the exchange rate of 1.0866 after opening the day at 1.0993.

The dollar has gained against the Swiss franc as the USD/CHF trades at 1.0726 after opening at 1.0656 today while the dollar has also been stronger against the Australian dollar and New Zealand dollar. The AUD/USD trades at 0.8161 after a 0.8183 opening while the NZD/USD trades at 0.6566 today after opening at the exchange rate of 0.6599.

US Existing Home Sales increase third month in a row. Jobless Claims rise. USD mixed in Forex Trading.

U.S. Existing Homes sales increased for the third month in a row in June according to the monthly report produced by the National Association of Realtors. The NAR report showed that existing-home sales including single family homes, co-ops and townhouses increased 3.6 percent in June to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.89 million units. The June data put existing home sales at three straight monthly gains for the first time since 2004. May’s sales data was revised lower to show a 1.3 percent increase after an initial report of a 2.4 percent increase.

The June sales pace surpassed economic forecasts that were predicting an approximate increase of 1.5 percent to a 4.84 million unit sales pace for the month. On an annual basis, June’s existing-homes sales are 0.2 percent lower than the June 2008 sales pace of 4.90 million units. The median sales price for existing homes increased from May to $181,800 in June while the total housing inventory showed a decrease of 0.7 percent in the month to a total of 3.82 million homes available.

NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun commented on June’s increase saying, “The increase in existing-home sales occurred in all major regions of the country,” and that, “We expect a gradual uptrend in sales to continue due to tax credit incentives and historically high affordability conditions.”

Forex Dealer

Once you have a Forex dealer you can begin trading. A transaction is completed when you buy and sell a currency simultaneously. Usually the logic behind trading currency is to buy at low prices and sell at higher prices, which is called long position. The best Forex dealers pay close attention to the market and global financial information to help predict when to sell currency because the value will drop and then buy it back at a lower cost later. This is called the short position.

Welcome to the Forex Dealers informational resource

Forex dealers help assist individuals in buying and/or selling currency. The Forex market is worldwide and available 24 hours a day. It is similar to a currency exchange except one can make a lot of money if they buy or sell the right currency at the right time. To get started trading, all you need is some cash (at least $200.00) and access to a computer with the internet. If you just want to experience what Forex trading is all about before investing your money, you are allowed to do that also. You can try out the market by setting up a practice account which does not include real money.

Low Interest Rates Possible Until 2013

According to the Bank of England Report published yesterday, Low interest rates could be with us for some time.


The Centre for Economics and Business Research (Cebr) said that the reality of a deep recession and slow recovery has dawned upon the MPC, recognizing that dull growth and downward pressure on prices may be of the greater concern.

Dollar Deception: How Banks Secretly Create Money

The creation of money is called most astounding sleight of hand ever invented. The creation of money is now privatized, as it is now being hold by a private banking cartel instead of congress. Most people think that government is the authority behind the issuance of money, but actually this is not the case. Except of the coins, the banks create all money, not the government. Federal Reserve Notes are issued by a private banking cooperation named the Federal Reserve, and lent to the government. Moreover Federal Reserve Notes and coins together compose less then 3% of the money supply. The other 97% is created by the commercial banks as loans.

FOREX VIEW:Dollar Could Firm Within Existing Ranges Next Week

While that the changes that has taken place will likely hold, with traders that are waiting for fresh incentives so that currencies could be pushed in new directions, as the summer vacation season begins to reduce trading flows and volatile trading is possible.

US Existing Home Sales increase third month in a row. Jobless Claims rise. USD mixed in Forex Trading.

U.S. Existing Homes sales increased for the third month in a row in June according to the monthly report produced by the National Association of Realtors. The NAR report showed that existing-home sales including single family homes, co-ops and townhouses increased 3.6 percent in June to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.89 million units. The June data put existing home sales at three straight monthly gains for the first time since 2004. May’s sales data was revised lower to show a 1.3 percent increase after an initial report of a 2.4 percent increase.

The June sales pace surpassed economic forecasts that were predicting an approximate increase of 1.5 percent to a 4.84 million unit sales pace for the month. On an annual basis, June’s existing-homes sales are 0.2 percent lower than the June 2008 sales pace of 4.90 million units. The median sales price for existing homes increased from May to $181,800 in June while the total housing inventory showed a decrease of 0.7 percent in the month to a total of 3.82 million homes available.

NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun commented on June’s increase saying, “The increase in existing-home sales occurred in all major regions of the country,” and that, “We expect a gradual uptrend in sales to continue due to tax credit incentives and historically high affordability conditions.”

Weekly Jobless Claims rise.

A government release by the U.S. Labor Department showed that weekly U.S. jobless claims increased in the week that ended on July 18th. New jobless claims grew to a total of 554,000 unemployed workers, an increase over the prior week by 30,000 workers. A 4-week moving average of unemployed workers fell by 19,000 from the prior week to a total of 566,000.

Meanwhile, workers seeking continuing claims for unemployment benefits for the week ending July 11th declined by 88,000 workers to a total of 6,225,000 unemployed workers. A four week moving average of continuing claims saw a decrease by 132,500 to 6,541,500.

Current Foreign Exchange Rates

The current foreign exchange rates change daily. They are constantly traded on in the Forex, or foreign exchange market. The foreign exchange market is the place where currency is traded between various institutions and countries.

The current foreign exchange rates fluxuate depending on trading, but also on economic conditions, political situations, and the stability of the country. Most countries have their own currency, and they are usually traded in the foreign exchange market.

The current foreign exchange rates are usually based on seven major currencies, which are the most traded currencies in the Forex. Those currencies are;

U.S. Dollar
Euro
Canadian Dollar
Pound
Franc
Australian Dollar
the Yen
These current foreign exchange rates are easy to find, since the majority of trading comes from these currencies. The current foreign exchange rates can be found through the Forex, or through the financial section on your local newpapers or website. The Forex is published most places that the stock exchange is posted on, so discovering the current foreign exchange rates is not difficult.

The current forein exchange rates for May 13, 2009, are as follows. The rate is set against the U.S. dollar. The number given tells you how many of that type of currency it takes to equal one dollar using the current foreign exchange currency.

Australian Dollar- 3.7578

British Pound- 0.660501
Euro- 0.734053
Yen- 96.0875
Canadian Dollar- 1.16215
Franc- 1.10504

FOREX-Dollar inches lower vs high-yielders after Fed

* Higher yielders firm after Fed says rates to stay low

* Dollar/yen steady, Japan investor repatriation moves eyed

By Kaori Kaneko

TOKYO, Aug 13 (Reuters) - The dollar slipped on Thursday after the Federal Reserve painted a less gloomy outlook for the U.S. economy but also said rates would remain low for a while, an assessment that led investors to return to commodity-linked currencies.

The Fed said it would slow the pace at which it buys Treasuries by extending the duration, but not the size, of its $300 billion programme to buy long-term government securities. [ID:nN1272730]

The U.S. central bank kept interest rates near zero and said they would likely stay there for an extended period, which dealers said scaled back market speculation that the Fed might raise rates soon.

"The Fed move basically did not have enough impact to alter the market trend of funds flowing into riskier assets," said Kazuyuki Kato, treasury department manager at Mizuho Trust & Banking.

"The prospect that the Fed will keep rates low will likely be one factor causing dollar weakness in the long term," he said.

Primary dealers polled by Reuters do not expect the Fed to raise rates until 2010 at the earliest, with four banks seeing a hike in the first half and seven in the second half. [FED/R]

The euro rose 0.3 percent from late U.S. trade on Wednesday to $1.4227 EUR=.

Higher yielding currencies such as the Australian and New Zealand dollars also rose, extending gains made the previous day after rebounding from steep losses.

The Aussie was up 0.3 percent at $0.8364 AUD=D4, having fallen as low as $0.8180 on Wednesday, while the kiwi advanced 0.3 percent to $0.6736 NZD=D4.

A trader at a European bank said the market had generally taken the Fed's statement as dovish, which was broadly positive for risk and negative for dollar.

"But equity markets still don't look like they have that much steam behind them so people are cautious about piling into risk trades at the moment," he said.

Asian share markets gained on Thursday but many are still largely unchanged so far in August and remain below recent 2009 peaks. The Aussie and kiwi are also sitting just below their highs for the year scored earlier in the month.

DOLLAR/YEN RANGE Continued...

Danish c.bank chief: forex buying led to rate cut

COPENHAGEN, Aug 13 (Reuters) - Danish central bank Governor Nils Bernstein said on Thursday that purchases of foreign exchange paved the way to cut interest rates.

Bernstein's remarks came after the Nationalbank cut its lending rate by 10 basis points to 1.45 percent.

The bank buys foreign exchange in the markets to try to keep the crown steady against the euro, and growth of the bank's forex reserves can trigger reductions in interest rates.

'We have now for some time been able to buy forex in the market,' Bernstein told Reuters. 'That gives an opportunity to reduce the interest rate.'

He declined to give figures for how big the bank's foreign-exchange reserves had grown.

The bank, whose monetary policy aims to keep the crown steady within a 2.25 percent band to the euro, also lowered its certificate of deposit rate by 10 basis points to 1.35 percent

Today's US data:

Jobless claims for week ending August 15th rose 15k to 576k, a fall to 550k was expected. July leading indicators rose 0.6%, a 0.4% rise was expected. August Philly Fed survey rises to 4.2, a reading of -3 was expected

Daily Forex Report - USD sharply lower, existing home sales surge 7.2%

USD traded sharply lower Friday pressured by higher equity markets, firmer crude prices and report that EU manufacturing and services PMI rose to their highest level in 15 months. USD extended its losses after the release of much better than expected rise in US July existing home sales. US existing home sales for July rose 7.2%, well above market expectations of a 2% rise. The report fueled further gains for US equities and speculation that the recession in the US has ended. A consensus is emerging that the US and global recession is ending supporting equity markets and improving risk sentiment. The rise in EU manufacturing and services PMI is further confirmation that the recession in Europe is ending. It's interesting to note in today's early trade that the USD decline was broad based with the JPY rising along with the other major currencies. The JPY was supported by safe haven flows inspired by weaker Nikkei trade and continued uncertainty about the outlook in China. Report that the Chinese government will audit China's bank loans sparked volatile trade in the Asian equity markets and the Nikkei closed 145 points lower. JPY erased overseas gains and traded lower pressured by a sharp rise in risk appetite and a spike in bond yields after the release of US existing home sales. There was little reaction to a Wall Street Journal report that warned that the US banks entering into a new phase of the financial crisis as more US banks are failing. Regulators may seize Guaranty Financial. The closing of Guaranty Financial would mark the 10th largest bankruptcy in US history. In addition, the MBA says that the percentage of mortgages in foreclosure or at least one payment past due has hit a record 13.16% in Q2. This could present more trouble for US banks.

Today's US data:

US dollar dampened by buoyant eurozone data

NEW YORK: The US dollar fell against the euro on Friday after fresh positive eurozone economic data and an upbeat global economic outlook from US Federal Reserve chief Ben Bernanke.

At 2100 GMT, the euro rose to 1.4328 dollars from 1.4251 dollars in New York on Thursday, after hitting a high of 1.4376.

It also moved higher against the Japanese currency, at 135.21 yen from 134.23 the previous day.

The dollar rose slightly to 94.35 yen from 94.17 yen on Thursday.

The euro "continues its stride higher (against the dollar) on excellent economic data but has come off of daily highs on better US data which translated into some dollar strength," said Kathy Lien, director of currency research at Global Forex Trading.

She said that data showing a key eurozone purchasing managers index rose to the break-even point in August after a long contraction "have almost become the most powerful argument that the region has escaped the clutches of recession."

"Such impressive data has revitalised speculation about when the ECB (European Central Bank) will start to raise rates," she said. "Many economists are starting to indicate that mid-way into next year will start the new hawkish monetary cycle."

A surprisingly strong jump in US existing home sales, to a two-year high, lifted equity markets.

In a further sign that the recession in the world's largest economy was easing, the National Association of Realtors reported that US existing home sales surged 7.2 percent in July to a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of 5.24 million units.

Traders also reacted positively to Bernanke's comment that the prospects for a global economic recovery "appear good," feeding appetite for currencies that are considered riskier such as the euro over the safe-haven dollar.

"The US dollar and Japanese yen were hammered lower on Friday as comments from Fed chairman Bernanke spurred optimism that the global economy is on its way out of recession," said Terri Belkas, currency strategist with Forex Capital Markets.

A variety of growth indicators in the United States and elsewhere due to be released the coming week "may determine how sound that argument is, and thus, the next move for the US dollar and Japanese yen," she said.

"Dollar weakness has been the story ... and continues to remain key as risk appetite continues to favour rivals," said Roman Kadinsky, also from Forex Capital Markets.

In late New York trading, the dollar declined to 1.0575 Swiss francs from 1.0627 a day earlier.

The pound slipped to 1.6501 dollars from 1.6506. - AFP/de

Swiss Franc Interest Rate Bias: Neutral

The Swiss Franc is one of the very few currencies in which markets believe that interest rates will rise through the medium term. Indeed, we see that the difference between 3-month CHF yields and 2-year rates stands at 7 basis points in favor of the longer-dated interest rates. This tells us that interest rate traders believe short-term interest rates will largely remain unchanged through the medium term, with a marginal probability of a Swiss National Bank rate hike in the longer-term. This gives us a fairly neutral interest rate bias for the Swiss Franc, but we note that such an assessment is favorable compared to an explicitly bearish bias for currencies such as the British Pound, Australian Dollar, and New Zealand dollar.

Forex Trading Conditions Difficult as Global Credit Crunch Worsens

The currency market has recently been struck with adverse Bid/Ask spreads and unfavorable interest rate rolls stemming from evolution of a global financial crisis. Indeed, the lack of liquidity in today’s very volatile market place has made it difficult to assume leveraged positions. More succinctly for FX traders, the drop in market liquidity has led to the recent spike in overnight borrowing rates. In turn, this has led to tight or even negative interest rate rolls for many pairs at the interbank level. In reality, rollover in the Forex Market reflects more than just the benchmark interest rate differential between two currencies; and the true spread between accessible borrowing and lending rates helps us to understand why one trader could have to pay rolls even if he holds a long position in the highest yielding currency. Looking ahead, financial markets are likely to remain under a considerable stress; but the recent injections of liquidity by the world’s preeminent central banks and efforts to improve policy should help to alleviate some pressure in the financial system over time.

Money market difficulties are quite visible in overnight borrowing and lending rates, as dealers make it prohibitively expensive to hold positions that they view risky to their own operations. In fact, US Dollar Overnight London Interbank Bid Rates, or the rates at which banks are willing to bid for overnight borrowing from other banks, skyrocketed over 400 basis points in the span of a single day. Such a dramatic move underlines banks’ unwillingness to lend to each other and the true scarcity of such funds.

US Dollar Overnight London Interbank Bid Rate (Libid)

Historical movement during 1992-2003

Yen depreciation

In 1995, the value of Yen excessively rose and the forex rate of USD-JPY dropped below 80-ish in April. Three years have passed, and the forex rate recovered to 147-ish in August, 1998. Some one would take this matter as great Yen's appreciation because the figure grows up from 80 to 147. The fact is, however, completely adverse that the value of Yen is drastically going down. For example, you can buy a one dollar candy only at 80 Yen in 1995, but it would cost 147 Yen in 1998. In this way, you will find that the shift of forex rate from 80 to 147 stands for decreasing the relative value of Japanese Yen. The Yen depreciation for a dollar makes Americans to buy Japanese products at lower price and Japanese's to buy US products at higher price. As a result, it strengthens Japan's export competitiveness and weakens US' competitiveness.

The forex rate of USD-JPY suddenly drops from 135 to 111 for a few days in October , 1998. In this year, some big troubles hit the financial markets. The Russian Ruble dropped rapidly and it led Russian economy to currency crisis, and it results in the default against foreign debts. In addition, the biggest US hedge fund, Long Term Capital Management, falls bankruptcy as you all remember.

In those days, US administration executed the stronger dollar policy called by Mr. Robert Rubin, the Secretary of US Treasury. It brought about excessive demand like a bubble in the stock market despite a dark outlook of declining US economy. The currency unease in Latin America took a trigger to change the trend of dollar appreciation like 147-ish and the forex market was forced to adjust dynamically.

LTCM bankruptcy tightened US financial credibility and it enforced other hedge fund functions to unwind their positions based on the global carry trade. It needed to buy back Japanese Yen and to sell US dollar. This brought about great fall by 14 big figures in the forex rate, especially, USD-JPY only in two days.

The stronger dollar policy centralized money from all over the world into the US stock market or bond market. On the contrary, rising Yen follows to collect such money to Japan, and the Japanese capital markets would become a hot issue. It is easily assumed that the profit arising from Japanese asset purchase would be made bigger if the forex rate is moving from120 to 100, and would be more if the value of asset is growing upper. Consequently, the forex rate is most significant point for foreign investors to judge.

Forex Exchange Rate – How Does It Get Calculated?

In the Forex market the value of two separate currencies and how they relate to one another is what is known as the Forex exchange rate. Usually the Forex rate is how much of one currency is needed to buy a unit of another. Just to give you an example of how the Foreign exchange rate can work and to help you better understands it we can compare the United States dollar with the Japanese yen. This ratio in the exchange rate is also known as pairing. A few other terms used in the Forex exchange are pips or basis points, which are actually two terms used for the same thing. In using the Forex exchange rate you are required to use two currencies and this means they are quoted as ‘two tier’ rates. Also in the Forex market its price basis is called a bid/ask. One last thing concerning the Forex exchange rate is that it is independently determined. With the benefits and knowledge of how the Forex exchange works you can decide if entering the Forex market is the right move for you.


Forex Exchange Rate – Learning the Basics


Executive Summary about foreign exchange rate By Tony Newton


It is due to the frequent fluctuations that come abound in the forex exchange rates. Literally defined, an exchange rate is the cost of one currency in relation with another. More so, it is maneuvered by the market forces called the supply and demand. Meanwhile, when the supply of such currency tops the market demand, the value of such currency as well as the exchange rate plunges. One good example of a fluctuating exchange rate is the US dollar .


An in-depth tutorial of the basics of forex exchange rate is widely available online. Your every decision counts and influences your investment’s progress or downfall.