After really bad news for the Dollar yesterday, concerning housing starts, the Dollar held near an all-time low against the Euro. Despite the US currency appreciated early this morning, trading at 1.5937 against the Euro at 7:00 am GMT, the tendency for the currency pair is still bullish, since it is expected that jobless claims rose in the last week by 5%. The speculation that the ECB will not cut interest rates, focusing in the inflation control, leads to forecast the Dollar will continue to be weak, since investors prefer currencies whose yields are not falling. 'The market's focal point is when the Euro will rise to the key $1.6 level', said Tsutomu Soma, senior manager of foreign assets at Okasan securities. A Bloomberg survey revealed that economists forecast the US economy will not grow in the first half of the current year, with the majority of them believing in a recession.

The Euro continues to dominate with its positive trend, as the Yen fell to its lowest in three months. Rising Asian stocks give investors the confidence to buy higher-yielding currencies with loans from Japan, supporting the Yen against the Euro and The Dollar. Yen traded at 162.75 against the Euro and at 102.13 against the Dollar, at 7:00am GMT. The release that the British economy is suffering with the credit crisis, which may lead several financial companies to huge firings, is pushing the Pound down, registering record lows against the Euro. The British currency traded at 0.8087 at 8:00am GMT.

The Canadian Consumer Price Index will be revealed today, which is expected to rise by 0.1 percentage point, boosting the Canadian Dollar. Swiss retail sales were revealed today, registering an increase of 2 percentage points, pushing the Swiss Franc up. The most important data is coming from the US, revealing unemployment claims and having a major impact in the direction of the Dollar. If the expectation is correct, the currency will register a slump.

Economic Calendar