Forex - GBP/USD gains on U.S. fiscal unease, BoE comments

Investing.com - The pound strengthened against the dollar on Friday as investors generally steered clear of the greenback to see if U.S. lawmakers can agree on a spending package to avoid a government shutdown in October.

In U.S. trading on Friday, GBP/USD was trading at 1.6137, up 0.60%, up from a session low of 1.6030 and off from a high of 1.6138.

Cable was likely to find support at 1.5980, Wednesday's low, and resistance at 1.6163, the high from Sept. 18.

Congress must approve a spending package by Oct. 1 to avoid a partial government shutdown.

While markets are expecting a last-minute deal, uncertainty steered investors away from the U.S. currency on Friday.

The Democratically-controlled Senate earlier Friday approved a stop-gap spending bill to fund the government through Nov. 15.

The bill was stripped of language defunding President Barack Obama's healthcare reform law, though the legislation will go back to the Republican-controlled House of Representatives, which called for defunding the president's healthcare law in the first place.

Elsewhere, the Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan consumer sentiment index fell to 77.5 in September from a reading of 76.8 the previous month.

Analysts were expecting the index to rise to 78.0 this month.

Separately, official data showed that U.S. personal spending rose 0.3% in August, in line with expectations, after an upwardly revised 0.2% increase the previous month.

Data also showed that personal income in the U.S. rose 0.4% last month as expected after an upwardly revised 0.2% gain in July, also in line with expectations.

Core personal consumption expenditures, which exclude food and energy, rose 0.2% in August, more than the expected 0.1% gain after a 0.1% increase in July.

The data continued to cloud market expectations as to when the Federal Reserve will begin taper its USD85 billion monthly bond-buying program, which weakens the dollar by driving down interest rates to spur recovery.

Meanwhile across the Atlantic, sterling strengthened after Bank of England Governor Mark Carney told the Yorkshire Post that he sees no need for more bond-buying given the signs of recovery in the U.K. economy.

The pound, meanwhile, was up against the euro and down against the yen, with EUR/GBP down 0.36% at 0.8378 and GBP/JPY down 0.31% at 158.35.

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Forex - Dollar falls as U.S. government shutdown looms

Investing.com - The dollar slumped against most major currencies on Friday as investors largely avoided the currency as a congressional deadline to pass a spending package and avoid a government shutdown grew closer.

In U.S. trading on Friday, EUR/USD was up 0.22% at 1.3519.

Congress must approve a spending package by Oct. 1 or risk a partial government shutdown afterwards.

While markets are expecting a last-minute deal, uncertainty steered investors away from the U.S. currency on Friday.

The Democratically-controlled Senate earlier Friday approved a stop-gap spending bill to fund the government through Nov. 15.

The bill was stripped of language defunding President Barack Obama's healthcare reform law, though the legislation will go back to the Republican-controlled House of Representatives, which called for defunding the president's healthcare law in the first place.

Mixed data softened the greenback as well.

Elsewhere, the Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan consumer sentiment index fell to 77.5 in September from a reading of 76.8 the previous month.

Analysts were expecting the index to rise to 78.0 this month.

Separately, official data showed that U.S. personal spending rose 0.3% in August, in line with expectations, after an upwardly revised 0.2% increase the previous month.

Data also showed that personal income in the U.S. rose 0.4% last month as expected after an upwardly revised 0.2% gain in July, also in line with expectations.

Core personal consumption expenditures, which exclude food and energy, rose 0.2% in August, more than the expected 0.1% gain after a 0.1% increase in July.

The data continued to cloud market expectations as to when the Federal Reserve will begin taper its USD85 billion monthly bond-buying program, which weakens the dollar by driving down interest rates to spur recovery.

Meanwhile in Europe, preliminary data showed that Germany's consumer price index was flat in September, in line with market expectations.

The greenback was down against the pound, with GBP/USD up 0.59% at 1.6136.

Across the Atlantic, sterling strengthened after Bank of England Governor Mark Carney told the Yorkshire Post that he sees no need for more bond-buying given the signs of recovery in the U.K. economy.

The dollar was down against the yen, with USD/JPY down 0.78% at 98.25, and down against the Swiss franc, with USD/CHF trading down 0.50% at 0.9058.

The dollar was mixed against its cousins in Canada, Australia and New Zealand, with USD/CAD down 0.05%at 1.0305, AUD/USD down 0.46% at 0.9316 and NZD/USD trading down 0.18% at 0.8277.

The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was down 0.32% at 80.37.

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Gold falls as U.S. jobless claims report sparks talk of Fed tapering

Investing.com - Gold prices fell on Thursday after better-than-expected data out of the U.S. labor market rekindled expectations for the Federal Reserve to begin tapering the pace of its USD85 billion in monthly asset purchases, which weaken the dollar to spur recovery.

Gold and the dollar tend to trade inversely with one another.

On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold futures for December delivery traded at USD1,324.70 during U.S. afternoon hours, down 0.86%.

Gold prices hit a session low of USD1,319.40 a troy ounce and high of USD1,339.60 a troy ounce.

Gold futures were likely to find support at USD1,306.20 a troy ounce, Tuesday's low, and resistance at USD1,375.10, last Thursday's high.

The December contract settled up 1.51% at USD1,336.20 a troy ounce on Wednesday.

The U.S. Department of Labor reported earlier that the number of individuals filing for initial jobless claims in the week ending Sept. 20 fell by 5,000 to a seasonally adjusted 305,000 from a downwardly revised 310,000 the previous week.

Analysts were expecting the figure to rise to 325,000, and the better-than-expected report fueled expectations that a more robust U.S. economy will prompt the Federal Reserve to begin tapering the pace of its monthly bond purchases soon.

Asset purchases weaken the greenback by driving down interest rates to spur recovery, which makes gold an attractive hedge.

Still, softer-than-expected data out of the U.S. housing market capped gold's gains by keeping expectations going that the Fed will very gradually wind down stimulus programs and won't tighten policy any time in the near future.

Industry data released earlier showed that U.S. pending home sales dropped 1.6% in August, more than an expected 1.0% decline following a downwardly revised 1.4% contraction the previous month.

Also on Thursday, official data showed that the U.S. economy expanded by 2.5% in the second quarter, just shy of expectations for a 2.6% expansion.

Elsewhere on the Comex, silver for December delivery was down 0.65% at USD21.743 a troy ounce, while copper for December delivery was up 0.99% and trading at USD3.305 a pound.

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Forex - Dollar gains on jobless claims report, growth data weigh

Investing.com - The dollar moved higher against most major currencies on Thursday after U.S. weekly jobless claims defied market expectations for a gain by contracting, though softer-than-expected gross domestic product growth rates hampered the greenback's advance.

In U.S. trading on Thursday, EUR/USD was down 0.32% at 1.3482.

The U.S. Department of Labor revealed earlier that the number of individuals filing for initial jobless claims in the U.S. in the week ending Sept. 20 fell by 5,000 to a seasonally adjusted 305,000, from a downwardly revised 310,000 the previous week.

Analysts were expecting the figure to rise to 325,000, which gave the dollar support by keeping expectations alive for the Federal Reserve to begin tapering the pace of its monthly USD85 billion bond-purchasing program, which weakens the dollar by driving down interest rates to spur recovery.

Capping the greenback's advances, however, was an industry report released earlier showing that U.S. pending home sales dropped 1.6% in August, more than an expected 1.0% decline following a downwardly revised 1.4% contraction the previous month.

Also on Thursday, official data showed that the U.S. economy expanded by 2.5% in the second quarter, just shy of expectations for a 2.6% growth rate.

The greenback was up against the pound, with GBP/USD down 0.26% at 1.6038.

The pound ran into headwinds after official data revealed that the U.K.'s gross domestic product expanded by 0.7% in the second quarter, in line with market expectations.

On a yearly basis, however, the U.K. economy rose 1.3% in the three months to June, missing expectations for a 1.5% increase.

A separate report showed that the U.K. current account deficit narrowed less than expected in the last quarter, coming in at GBP13 billion from a GBP21.8 billion deficit in the three months to March.

Analysts had expected the current account deficit to narrow to GBP12 billion in the second quarter.

The dollar was up against the yen, with USD/JPY up 0.44% at 98.87, and up against the Swiss franc, with USD/CHF trading up 0.15% at 0.9106.

The yen moved lower against most major currencies amid expectations that the government will cut corporate taxes to spur recovery, which sent investors ditching the Japanese currency in favor of Japanese equities.

The dollar was mixed against its cousins in Canada, Australia and New Zealand, with USD/CAD flat at 1.0314, AUD/USD down 0.17% at 0.9351 and NZD/USD trading up 0.46% at 0.8278.

The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was up 0.31% at 80.66.

On Friday, the U.S. is to round up the week with revised data on consumer sentiment and inflation expectations from the University of Michigan as well as data on personal income and expenditure.

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Argentinian retail sales rises unexpectedly

Investing.com - Retail sales in Argentina rose unexpectedly last month, official data showed on Wednesday.

In a report, Instituto Nacional De Estadistic y Censos said that Argentinian Retail Sales rose to a seasonally adjusted 35.8%, from 31.1% in the preceding month whose figure was revised up from 27.7%.

Analysts had expected Argentinian Retail Sales to fall to 22.5% last month.

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South Korean consumer confidence falls unexpectedly

Investing.com - The current level of consumer confidence in South Korea fell unexpectedly last month, official data showed on Wednesday.

In a report, The Bank Of KOREA said that South Korean Consumer Confidence fell to 102, from 105 in the preceding month.

Analysts had expected South Korean Consumer Confidence to remain unchanged at 105 last month.

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Forex - Dollar gains on U.S. housing data, sees Fed tapering soon

Investing.com - The dollar moved higher in U.S. trading on Tuesday after investors looked beyond a Federal Reserve decision to keep stimulus programs unchanged last week and prepared for such dollar-weakening policies to unwind in either in late October or in December.

In U.S. trading on Tuesday, EUR/USD was down 0.12% at 1.3478.

The dollar took a hit last week after the Federal Reserve left its USD85 billion bond-buying program unchanged — many investors were expecting the U.S. central bank to trim the total by USD10 billion or more.

Asset purchases aim to spur recovery by driving down interest rates, weakening the dollar in the process.

Afterwards, conflicting statements from monetary officials have made it unclear when the Fed will begin scaling back its bond-buying program sooner or later.

On Friday, St. Louis Fed President James Bullard said the Fed could decide at its October monetary policy meeting to begin tapering the USD85 billion monthly asset-purchasing program.

The Federal Reserve will hold its next monetary policy meeting Oct. 29-30 but is not scheduled to hold a press conference that day, which left many expecting a decision to taper asset purchases to come in December before Bullard's comments.

On Monday, however, Federal Reserve Bank of New York President William Dudley said monetary authorities want to be sure recovery is sustained before dismantling stimulus programs.

Separately, Dallas Fed President Richard Fisher, a noted policy hawk, said on Monday the decision to keep the Fed's bond-buying program unchanged has damaged the institution's credibility.

The dollar look past those comments and saw only slight headwinds after soft consumer sentiment data hit the wire earlier Tuesday.

The Conference Board's index of U.S. consumer confidence ticked down to 79.7 in September from 81.8 in August.

Analysts were expecting the figure to dip to 79.9.

Improving housing data supported the greenback somewhat by fueling an underlying consensus that tapering will begin this year.

The S&P/Case-Shiller index of property values in 20 U.S. cities increased by 12.4% on year in July, in line with already bullish market expectations.
Meanwhile in Europe, data revealed that German business confidence improved in September though not in line with expectations, which softened the euro and bolstered the dollar's safe-haven appeal.

The German Ifo business climate index ticked up to 107.7 from 107.6 in August, the highest level since March 2012 though still below expectations for a reading of 108.2.

The single currency also remained under pressure after European Central Bank President Mario Draghi said Monday the bank is ready to inject a third round of liquidity into the region's banks if needed, in order to safeguard the bloc's recovery.

The greenback was up against the pound, with GBP/USD down 0.22% at 1.6009.

The dollar was down slightly against the yen, with USD/JPY down 0.02% at 98.84, and up against the Swiss franc, with USD/CHF trading up 0.17% at 0.9124.

The dollar was up against its cousins in Canada, Australia and New Zealand, with USD/CAD up 0.14% at 1.0298, AUD/USD down 0.38% at 0.9395 and NZD/USD trading down 1.09% at 0.8282.

Statistics Canada reported earlier that retail sales rose 0.6% in July from June, below forecasts for a 1.0% gain. Core retail sales were up 1.0%, in line with forecasts.

The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was up 0.11% at 80.67.

On Wednesday, the U.S. is to release data on durable goods orders, a leading indicator of production, in addition to a report on new home sales.

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New Zealandrsquo;s trade balance falls unexpectedly

Investing.com - New Zealand's trade balance fell unexpectedly last month, data showed on Tuesday.

In a report, Statistics New Zealand said that the trade balance fell to a seasonally adjusted -1,191M, from -774M in the preceding month.

Analysts had expected the trade balance to rise to -743M last month.

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Gold extends losses on Fed authority call on stimulus tapering

Investing.com - Gold prices extended Friday's losses into Monday as investors continued to avoid the precious metal after a key Federal Reserve official said that monetary authorities may consider tapering stimulus programs in October.

The commodity skyrocketed last week after the Federal Reserve announced it would continue to stimulate the U.S. economy with its USD85 billion monthly bond-buying program.

Ultra-loose monetary policies that include asset purchases drive down interest rates to spur recovery, weakening the dollar in the process and making gold an attractive hedge.

On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold futures for December delivery traded at USD1,325.50 during U.S. afternoon hours, down 0.53%.

Gold prices hit a session low of USD1,313.60 a troy ounce and high of USD1,331.80 a troy ounce.

Gold futures were likely to find support at USD1,291.70 a troy ounce, Wednesday's low, and resistance at USD1,375.10, Thursday's high.

The December contract settled down 2.69% at USD1,332.50 a troy ounce on Friday.

Gold prices soared last week after the Fed made no changes to its USD85 billion bond-buying program.

Many market participants were expecting the U.S. central bank to trim the total by USD10 billion or more.

On Friday, however, St. Louis Fed President James Bullard said that the U.S. central bank could taper its stimulus program during its October meeting, which sparked a round of profit-taking that sent gold prices falling.

The Federal Reserve will hold a monetary policy meeting Oct. 29-30, though it was not expected to hold a press conference afterwards, leaving market participants betting for a December start date to begin tapering asset purchases.

Still, gold saw some support after the Federal Reserve Bank of New York President William Dudley said the stimulus program would stay in place until data show that recovery will be sustained.

"In my view, the economy still needs the support of a very accommodative monetary policy. Adjustments to that policy need to be anchored in an assessment of how the economy is actually performing, how financial conditions are evolving, and how this affects the longer-term outlook and the risks around it," Dudley said in prepared remarks of a speech he delivered earlier.

"Our decisions on how to adjust our policy tools—for example, the pace of asset purchases and forward guidance with respect to the level of short-term rates—must be rooted in the ongoing flow of information that informs our judgments about the prospects for a sustainable recovery."

Elsewhere on the Comex, silver for December delivery was down 0.40% at USD21.840 a troy ounce, while copper for December delivery was down 0.56% and trading at USD3.302 a pound.

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Forex - Dollar trims losses, stays weak on Fed support for stimulus

Investing.com - The dollar took back earlier losses stemming from a Federal Reserve official's defense of keeping stimulus programs in place on Monday though gains were short lived.

Comments from European Central Bank President Mario Draghi on considerations to provide low-interest loans to euro zone banks gave the dollar some support .

In U.S. trading on Monday, EUR/USD was down 0.20% at 1.3496.

The euro softened and the dollar firmed after Draghi said earlier that the European Central Bank may provide financial institutions with a new round of low-cost loans known as long-term refinancing operations to ensure interest rates stay low and inflation in target.

In 2011, the ECB began lending out EUR1 trillion in long term refinancing operations to spur recovery.

Elsewhere, data released earlier showed that the euro zone preliminary manufacturing purchasing managers' index fell to 51.1 in September from a final reading of 51.4 in August. Analysts were expecting the index to rise to 51.8.

Conversely, the euro zone services PMI rose to 52.1, its highest level since June 2011, from 50.7 in August and well above expectations for a reading of 51.1.

Across the Atlantic, the greenback came under pressure earlier after New York Federal Reserve President William Dudley defended the U.S. central bank's decision to leave its USD85 billion in monthly asset purchases unchanged.

"In my view, the economy still needs the support of a very accommodative monetary policy. Adjustments to that policy need to be anchored in an assessment of how the economy is actually performing, how financial conditions are evolving, and how this affects the longer-term outlook and the risks around it," Dudley said in prepared remarks of his speech.

"Our decisions on how to adjust our policy tools—for example, the pace of asset purchases and forward guidance with respect to the level of short-term rates—must be rooted in the ongoing flow of information that informs our judgments about the prospects for a sustainable recovery."

Many market watchers were expecting the Fed to trim the amount of assets it purchases each month by about USD10 billion, which would have strengthened the greenback.

The greenback was down against the pound, with GBP/USD up 0.30% at 1.6053.

The dollar was down against the yen, with USD/JPY down 0.60% at 98.78, and down against the Swiss franc, with USD/CHF trading down 0.04% at 0.9104.

The dollar was down against its cousins in Canada, Australia and New Zealand, with USD/CAD down 0.26% at 1.0280, AUD/USD up 0.49% at 0.9444 and NZD/USD trading up 0.17% at 0.8376.

The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was down 0.01% at 80.53.

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Forex - USD/JPY down in Asian trade

Investing.com - The U.S. Dollar was lower against the Japanese Yen on Sunday.

USD/JPY was trading at 99.36, down 0.01% at time of writing.

The pair was likely to find support at 97.77, Wednesday's low, and resistance at 99.67, Friday's high.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Dollar was down against the Euro and up against the British Pound, with EUR/USD gaining 0.04% to hit 1.3528 and GBP/USD falling 0.02% to hit 1.6002.

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