Australia Readies to Raise Interest Rates, Says Central Bank Chief (Euro Open)

Asia session trading saw Reserve Bank of Australia Governor Glenn Stevens use sharper rhetoric in discussing the certainty of lifting the overnight cash rate from “emergency” levels. This comes just hours before CPI data from half-way around the world, is expected to point toward deflation. Unexpected growth in the Euro-Zone, however, may derail this estimate and may cause inflation to actually publish in positive territory.

Key Overnight Developments

• RBA’s Stevens Conjures ‘Emergency’ Rate Increase Speculation
• New Zealand Retail Sales Unexpectedly Gain in June
• Some Bank of Japan Members Wanted to Extend Program

Critical Levels



Pound traders eased into the Asian session after a volatile U.S. session sent Sterling bouncing between pivot support and resistance against the Dollar. Euro price action, at the time of this publication, was set to end its five day winning streak against the greenback.

Asia Session Highlights



New Zealand Retail Sales rose 0.1% in June, much stronger than the anticipated 0.3% contractionary figure. Despite a continued growth, spending gains still performed weaker than in the previous month. The previous period may have been a simple green shoot as the figure happened to be the strongest of such in 12 months. Spending in the three months ending June, however, saw the first gain in retail sales in seven quarters. Such activity occurred in a period in which wages grew by the slowest pace in 10 years, adding to speculation that much of this spree has been led by cash handouts implemented by the New Zealand government. Additionally, it does seem odd that a turnaround of this magnitude could occur at such a rapid pace; the previous quarter's sales figure contracted 2.7%. As the market mechanism kicks in again and the government's cash handouts are phased from the metric, labor market weakness will regain the reigns. Keep in mind that the country's Finance Minister, Bill English, stated two weeks ago that the administration expects the unemployment rate to continue rising for quite some time.

Minutes of the July 14-15 meeting of the Bank of Japan revealed that they will extend purchases of corporate debt and asset-backed paper by there additional months, until December 31. Despite economic conditions which have "stopped worsening" there are still some key companies that are lacking the credit to stay afloat. "Another extension might become necessary if the bank's judgment was that the situation had not improved sufficiently," some board members added." An extension of such alternative methods of monetary easing would be welcomed in the country which has, in June, seen retail sales plummet significantly more than forecast and the unemployment rate rise more than anticipated.

Reserve Bank of Australia Governor Glenn Stevens said that the bank will raise it's "emergency" level overnight cash rate as the economy recovers from recession. At his half-yearly testimony given to parliament's finance committee, the 51-year old head of the RBA said "there will come a time when the exceptional monetary stimulus in place at present will no longer be needed." The hawkishly sharper rhetoric is a stark change from that which was given in the minute of their meeting five weeks ago. Perhaps the RBA is playing a game of chicken - at their latest meeting they revised their 2009 growth estimate up to 0.5% from a contraction of -1.0%. But it seems as though the market didn't buy it.

Euro Session: What to Expect



Euro-Zone Consumer Prices in July are expected to have shrunk for the first time since the start of the year on a monthly basis. Looking at the figure on a year-over-year basis, prices have been trending downward as last summer’s oil-based inflation continues to be phased out of the yearly number. But this next piece of data might be a bit better than the Bloomberg consensus would have one believe. Just yesterday it was announced that German and French GDP had unexpectedly grown in the second quarter of the year. On a broader-spectrum, the Euro-Zone economy contracted at a slower pace than estimates had originally figured. Much of this may have been due to labor conditions which had improved. Spain, the country in the area with the largest amount of job losses in the last year, had to revise their joblessness rate down. As such, the fact that there are additional laborers employed may raise inflationary pressures as the dwindling number of free workers declines. Although this may seem logical in theory, wages are sticky and take some time to adjust to an equilibrium level of supply and demand. Furthermore, if there was indeed a greater level of free cash floating in the pockets of ordinary citizens, it would have made sense for consumer spending to have risen. Unfortunately, June saw retail sales decline 0.2% when forecasts calls for a rise of 0.3% in the figure. The two contradictory indicators lead to some confusion. Nonetheless, unexpected growth will likely weigh in some for or another.

Written by Luis Gil, DailyFX Research
Article Source - Australia Readies to Raise Interest Rates, Says Central Bank Chief (Euro Open)

USD Setback Could Change Course Following Today's Retail Sales

After suffering a mild setback following the release of yesterday's Federal Funds Rate policy statement, the USD now seems poised for a come-back. At the opening of the US market today at 12:30 GMT, traders will catch a glimpse of US retail sales and unemployment claims which are both expected to show a continuation of growth in the United States helping the USD regain some of yesterday's losses.



USD - Dollar Down on All Fronts Except JPY Following Fed Statement

The U.S. Dollar trimmed earlier losses against major counterparts on Wednesday after the Federal Reserve left Interest Rates unchanged, near zero percent. The Dollar pared earlier losses versus the EUR in the first 20 minutes after the Fed's statement on optimism that the end of the purchase program would reduce the risk of inflation, which erodes the purchasing power of the greenback. However, the USD resumed its decline afterwards as stocks gained.

Against the Japanese yen the U.S. Dollar kept broad gains after the Federal Reserve painted a less gloomy outlook for the U.S. economy, an assessment that led investors to return to commodity-linked currencies in droves. The Federal Reserve has also said it would slow the pace at which it buys Treasuries by extending the duration, but not the size, of its $300 billion program to buy long-term government securities.

Analysts have said that while sentiment toward riskier assets has improved, there was a general degree of caution on the Fed's move to extend the time-frame of asset purchases as it indicated that the economy was still vulnerable. Today, forex traders will catch a glimpse into US Retail Sales and the weekly unemployment claims report. If sales continue to grow in the US, as is forecast, the USD may be capable of going bullish later in the day.

EUR - The Sterling Remains under Downward Pressure

The European currency gained for a 3rd consecutive day against the U.S Dollar before the European Union's statistics office releases its 2nd quarter Gross Domestic Product numbers in Luxembourg. GDP in the 16-nation Euro-Zone shrank 0.5% after a 2.5% contraction in the 1st quarter, according to economist predictions.

The EUR also advanced against 13 of the 16 major currencies before the release of a U.S. report that may show retail sales gaining for a third straight month, prompting investors to seek higher-yielding assets.

The British currency had weakened yesterday ahead of the release of the Bank of England's (BOE) quarterly inflation report. The Pound fell against the Dollar after the BOE said it may miss its inflation target amid a slow recovery. Fear of undershooting the target means the central bank is more likely to hold off on increasing rates, analysts have said.

Britain's currency also dropped versus the Yen after the central bank's governor said it was more likely that inflation will slow below 1% this year and unemployment may reach a 14-year high.

JPY - Yen Falls on Low Safe-Haven Demand

The Yen fell for a 2nd consecutive day against the EUR after the Federal Reserve said economic activity is leveling out, sapping demand for Japan's currency as a refuge. The Yen depreciated to as low as 96.23 from 95.51 vs. the US Dollar at the close of Tokyo stock trading. A weaker domestic currency increases the value of overseas sales at Japanese companies when repatriated.

The JPY also weakened against all 16 major currencies as Asian stocks extended a U.S. equity rally on signs the global slump is abating, encouraging investors to buy higher-yielding securities. For today, most attention will be paid to the New Zealand Dollar (NZD) following the evening release of its retail sales reports. With a recently bullish NZD, this report has the potential of creating a reversal to this trend if it comes out worse than forecast.

Crude Oil - Oil Prices Rebound above $70 a Barrel

Crude Oil ended higher Wednesday as a rally on Wall Street and sudden Dollar weakness overshadowed government data showing a bigger-than-expected rise in crude supplies. While the fundamental picture is bearish, Crude is being supported by a weaker U.S Dollar and stronger equity markets. Traders appeared to shrug off government data showing a build-up in crude supplies. Oil's strength came despite a report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) showing U.S. Crude Oil Inventories rose 2.5 million barrels in the week to August 7, well over analysts' expectations.

Oil trimmed gains after the U.S. Federal Reserve in its policy statement said the U.S. economy is leveling out and that it was extending purchases of long-term U.S. Treasury debt to the end of October. Crude also rose as the International Energy Agency (IEA) boosted its oil-demand outlook for this year and next. In its report yesterday, the IEA said that the world will need 85.25 million barrels of oil a day next year, 70,000 barrels more than previously estimated.

Article Source - USD Setback Could Change Course Following Today's Retail Sales

Euro-Zone Economic Contraction Set to Ease (Euro Open)

The growth rate of the Euro-Zone economy will be highly watched tomorrow and is likely to shake markets if the published number deviates from expectations. Contractionary conditions might not actually be as bad as originally thought after Spain, the country with the worst jobless rate, had to revise its unemployment rate down.

Key Overnight Developments

• Australian Inflation Expectations Highest Since October
• Moody’s Holds ‘Negative’ Outlook on N.Z. Banks
• Wages in Australia Grow at 4-Year High

Critical Levels



Sterling price action against the Dollar consolidated during Asian trading after having touched both our identified support and resistance levels. The Euro played it similarly and even broke through pivot support for a brief moment before continuing up toward our ceiling at 1.4161, coming only 29 pips shy.

Asia Session Highlights



A Moody's research article continued to hold a "negative" outlook for New Zealand’s banking system. "Impairment levels have risen noticeably so far in fiscal 2009...thereby reducing net profit growth and internal capital generation capabilities" said Marina Ip, assistant vice president at Moody's Australia. The unwanted news comes just four weeks after Fitch, another major ratings agency, slashed New Zealand's sovereign debt-rating outlook to "negative." In that report, the agency cited the high level of dependence that the country has on short-term financing from abroad as reason for the caution. The credit outlook for both the public and private sectors in New Zealand remains weak. Yields are likely to remain high. On Monday, the country's 10-year government bond yield rose to the highest level since the end of June. Such tight-money conditions might make it tough for the country to grow organically.

Australians expect the highest level of inflation since October, after gasoline rose to $1.50 per liter, or $6.40 per gallon and average weekly wages grew at the greatest pace since August 2005. Although it is true that an upward trend in the rate of wage growth may lead to a general rise in consumer prices, the anticipated 3.5% inflation rate might not necessarily become a realized threat. The 6.1% growth in pay through May substantially overshot forecasts, which called for figure to rise by only 5.3%. On one hand, this startling trend may induce wage-led inflation. On the other, it may not. The data does not include the wages of part-time workers. Keep in mind that since last summer, the number of full-time positions that were lost was replaced by almost the same amount of part-time ones created. This means that since the data only represents those who are working complete shifts it does not get weighed down by the downward wage pressure generally thrust upon part-timers. But the public does have some reason to believe the price of living will jump ahead. At its latest meeting, the RBA revised its growth forecast for 2009 significantly upward. The bank actually believes that their economy will expand by 0.5% - quite a stark difference from the 1.0% contraction which they had originally anticipated. It will be a tough call to predict. But in the mean time wages of all workers might continue to slow in gains, easing the pressure on overall inflation.

Euro Session: What to Expect



The economies of Germany, France and, more importantly, the Euro-Zone are expected to have continued shrinking during the second quarter of 2009. Contraction rates for each area are, however, clearly expected to fair better than the period prior. Such optimism may be coming on the back of a lagged monetary transmission system, which saw the European Central Bank slash it’s overnight policy rate by 2.75 percentage points in the six months leading up to March and another half-point in May. The ECB also took unprecedented action last month when it injected 442.2 billion Euros into the zone’s banking system. These stimulative efforts, aimed at kickstarting the economy or at least at easing the pain, may have done just that – at least in the final part of the period. June saw the Euro-Zone unemployment rate actually come in 0.3 percentage points under expectations to 9.4% and the May figure revised down 0.2 percentage points to 9.2%. Much of this June error came after Spain, the Euro-Zone country with the largest amount of job losses in the last year, revised their rate of unemployment downward. Some of this liquidity easing must be trickling down if even the country with the weakest labor market finds itself doing better than initially expected. While the joblessness situation does seem to be softening, the Euro-Zone economy probably continued to decline – but only at a slower pace than many may be expecting, it may seem.

Switzerland’s June Producer and Import Prices are expected top have risen by the largest monthly amount since July 2008. With the trade-weighted Franc exchange rate in May falling by the largest percentage amount since January, it may come to be that the country’s import prices will be reflected by such deterioration in the Swiss purchasing power abroad. On the contrary, trade data for June showed that the nominal value of imports rose by 2.5% while the real value rose even more, by 3.8%. In any case where the real value of a price variable exceeds that of the nominal one it is because the cost declined.

Written by Luis Gil, DailyFX Research
Article Source - Euro-Zone Economic Contraction Set to Ease (Euro Open)

JPY This Week's Lead Investment; US Federal Funds Rate Today!

During yesterday's trading, the Yen continued to be the dominant currency in the forex market. Whilst most of the major currencies tended to fluctuate without marking a sustained trend, the JPY strengthened on all fronts, and currently looks to be this week's top investment. During today's trading, the most fascinating data will come at 18:15 GMT, as the Federal Funds Rate for August will be announced. The main question is whether the Fed will hike rates in light of recent positive economic data. Such a turn of events could create mayhem in the market, and traders are advised to be prepared.



USD - USD Sees Mixed Trading Ahead of FOMC Statement

The Dollar experienced a mixed trading day Tuesday ahead of today's FOMC meeting, continuing its rally against its commodity based counterparts while slipping slightly against the EUR and dropping sharply against the Yen. The Dollar traded at 95.80 Yen early this morning, from 95.99 yesterday, after falling 1.2%. The U.S. currency was at $1.4161 per EUR from $1.4149 yesterday.

The highly anticipated FOMC meeting statement is due to be released today at 18:15 GMT. Breaking with its trend throughout the recession, the Dollar unexpectedly rose Friday following a surprisingly strong U.S employment data release. This was seen as a signal that the recession is coming to an end and the Dollar might start benefiting from positive U.S data. This statement will be the first test of whether this trend will persist and the Dollar's strength can be maintained on positive economic data.

While no interest rate changes are expected, any clues as to the progress or end of the quantitative easing program will likely cause great market volatility. The statement is expected to provide an assessment of the current economic condition in the world's largest economy and more importantly provide an economic outlook, therefore, likely setting short-term direction for the USD.

EUR - EUR Continues its Decline against the Yen

The EUR continues to decline versus the Yen pushing its loss to 1.9%. The decline was exacerbated after consumer prices in Germany posted their first annual decline in more than 22 years in July, boosting speculations the European Central Bank (ECB) will keep interest rates at a record low. The EUR was at $1.4154 from $1.4142 late Monday and was at 135.74 yen, down from 137.32.

The Pound continues its decline against the Dollar, reaching a low of $1.6476. Pushing down on the Pound was a worse then expected trade balance as well as falling stock markets, prompted by declines in financial stocks. With the financial sector being the largest sector in the British economy, equity market movements tend to have major affects on the GBP's value. Furthermore, investors are staying cautious ahead of today's BOE inflation statement.

A heavy news day is expected today from the U.K which will likely set the direction for the Pound for the rest of the week with the Claimant Count Change to be released at 8:30 GMT along with the Average Earnings Index and the BOE Inflation statement. at 9:30 GMT. These will provide an assessment of the current economic conditions in the U.K as well as provide an outlook on the prospects of recovery. The Euro-Zone Industrial Production report is also due to be released at 9:00 GMT, worse than expected results will likely put further downward pressure on the EUR.

JPY - The JPY Gains against all Major Currencies

The JPY traded at its highest level in a week against the EUR yesterday on concern the improvement in financial companies' earnings will stall. The Yen traded at 135.82 per EUR early today, following a 1.1% gain yesterday. Japan's currency traded at 95.96 per USD and 158.17 against the Pound, both up from yesterday's figures.

Disappointing Chinese economic data and dropping stock prices on global exchanges soured risk appetite. Expectations that the Japanese economy will pull out of the recession ahead of the U.S have also helped push up the JPY against the greenback as investors turned to Japanese assets.

With no major news releases from Japan today, the Yen's short term direction will likely be set by the news coming from the U.S and Europe, mainly the FOMC statement minutes.

Crude Oil - Crude Falls below $70 a Barrel

Light Sweet Crude for September delivery settled down $1.15, or 1.6%, at $69.45 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) yesterday as U.S. equities dropped ahead of a government report forecasting an increase in crude supplies in the biggest energy consuming nation. This was the lowest settlement since July 31. It was the fourth straight daily decline and the first time oil settled below $70 this month.

While global economic recovery is impending, demand is still contracting sharply, collapsing faster than anyone expected. Traders should follow today's release of U.S Crude Oil inventories as any bearish number could prompt a further decline in prices.

Article Source - JPY This Week's Lead Investment; US Federal Funds Rate Today!