MORNING BRIEFING: Chinese official’s comments lift the US Dollar.

[RTFX-Trading]

MORNING BRIEFING: Chinese official’s comments lift the US Dollar.

What’s new:
China: Sovereign Wealth fund official says USD has hit bottom, Yen to fall further.
Japan: Nikkei hits 15-month high.
Switzerland: SNB President worried about current interest rates.
Euro zone: Fiscal worries continue.
United States: Report says Fed earned $45B in 2009.

Today:


Overnight Rates and Indices:
EURUSD: 1.4521 – 1.4453.
USDCHF: 1.0209 – 1.0155.
GBPUSD: 1.6129 – 1.6063.
EURJPY: 133.82 – 132.98.
USDJPY: 92.43 – 91.72.
DowJones: 10’663.99 +0.43%
NASDAQ: 2’312.41 -0.20%
S&P 500: 1’146.98 +0.17%
Nikkei: 10’879.14 +0.75%.
Shanghai: 3’212.75 +0.52%,
Gold: $1’157.2 +0.56%
Crude Oil: $82.27 -0.30%
 
Comments:

The US Dollar rebounds overnight following comments from a Chinese Sovereign Wealth Fund official. Peng Junming said the US Dollar has hit bottom, while the Yen will continue to decline. He also added that gold was too expensive at current levels.

Kansas City Fed President Hoenig said yesterday, that recent employment data does not alter his growth outlook for 2010 and said the Fed could consider raising interest rates even with unemployment at 10%. He added that the FOMC should consider altering the “extended period” phase. Meanwhile Atlanta Fed President Lockhart defended the Fed’s independence, saying the Fed “must have the capacity to make unpopular decisions”. He also said that the slow US recovery warrants low rates.

SNB President Hilderbrand was cautious about leaving current policy rate unchanged for too long and warned that this could create new problems for the economy. He said the SNB will start raising policy rates once the economy is past the recession while adding that the SNB has already begun reducing its balance sheet.

Have a nice day.

Emman Xuereb
Trading Desk
RTFX Ltd
Risk Disclaimer