http://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/market-session-snapshot/http://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/http://mediaserver.fxstreet.com/images/fxstreet-provider-logo1-en.gif7http://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/market-session-snapshot/2012-02-10.htmlMarket Brief After initial optimism that Greece's political parties had finally reached an agreement on austerity measures yesterday, Eurogroup members subsequently rejected the proposals late in the evening, and demanded Greek Finance Minister Venizelos return to Athens to procure deeper cuts. It appears that EU policymakers are not yet willing to sign off on the deal until Greece shows a deeper commitment to carrying out austerity measures, and have set a new deadline of next Wednesday (whenFri, 10 Feb 2012 07:51:58 GMThttp://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/support@ac-markets.com (Swissquote Bank SA)http://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/market-session-snapshot/2012-02-10.htmlhttp://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/market-session-snapshot/2012-02-09.htmlMarket Brief Greece failed deliver on yet another deadline yesterday, leaving bailout talks and bond swap negotiations still without an official conclusion. However, markets appear to have given Greece the benefit of the doubt that discussions are entering their final stages, and that an announcement could be forthcoming after today’s Eurogroup meeting. Looking at the price action from the euro (now trading above 1.3300 levels against the dollar), it is clear that most of the good news isThu, 09 Feb 2012 09:06:27 GMThttp://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/support@ac-markets.com (Swissquote Bank SA)http://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/market-session-snapshot/2012-02-09.htmlhttp://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/market-session-snapshot/2012-02-08.htmlMarket Brief The euro has rallied strongly over the last 24 hours as speculation mounts that Greece is close to resolving some of the outstanding issues standing in the way of securing further bailout cash. Yesterday afternoon, a Greek government spokesman announced that political leaders had scheduled to meet today and respond to the latest troika proposals by noon; a development which seems to suggest a potential deal has been struck or is very close to being struck. Additionally thereWed, 08 Feb 2012 08:26:22 GMThttp://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/support@ac-markets.com (Swissquote Bank SA)http://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/market-session-snapshot/2012-02-08.htmlhttp://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/market-session-snapshot/2012-02-07.htmlMarket Brief AUDUSD has powered higher overnight as the RBA shocked the market by keeping interest rates on hold at 4.25%. The consensus view was that the Australian central bank would opt to cut rates by 25bps for the third time in a row; but instead, policymakers deemed the current interest rate appropriate for now. It is likely that RBA members wish to allow the effect of the last two cuts to feed through and watch how the financial climate evolves from there before pulling the trigger onTue, 07 Feb 2012 08:27:16 GMThttp://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/support@ac-markets.com (Swissquote Bank SA)http://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/market-session-snapshot/2012-02-07.htmlhttp://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/market-session-snapshot/2012-02-06.htmlMarket Brief Friday’s US employment data was extremely encouraging, with the headline non-farm payrolls coming in much stronger than expected at 243k (compared to consensus estimates looking for 140k), and the unemployment rate unexpectedly dropping to 8.3% from 8.5% prior. The release led to a short-term uptick in risk sentiment characterized by a decent rally in USDJPY above 76.70 levels, but that good news has now been overshadowed by renewed Greece concerns at the start of this week.Mon, 06 Feb 2012 08:31:15 GMThttp://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/support@ac-markets.com (Swissquote Bank SA)http://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/market-session-snapshot/2012-02-06.htmlhttp://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/market-session-snapshot/2012-02-03.htmlMarket Brief Yet another day goes by without a resolution to the Greek bond swap talks; meaning we are still sat with a major hurdle preventing risk appetite from accumulating or EURUSD from making further upside progress. Yesterday, the EU's Rehn said he expects an agreement between Greece and its private sector creditors by end of this week; a comment which is only likely to increase the potential for disappointment if that timeline is not met. He added that Greece must make decisive stepsFri, 03 Feb 2012 08:05:11 GMThttp://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/support@ac-markets.com (Swissquote Bank SA)http://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/market-session-snapshot/2012-02-03.htmlhttp://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/market-session-snapshot/2012-02-02.htmlMarket Brief Risk appetite has consolidated overnight, with Asian equity markets following European and US markets higher. The Nikkei is up +0.8%, Hang Seng +1.6% and Shanghai Composite + 2.0 %, while EURUSD has managed to remain above 1.3150 for most of the session. Contributing to this uptick in sentiment is undoubtedly the easing of stress in European bond markets, as well as the largely encouraging manufacturing surveys released throughout yesterday. Clearly, the underlying problems inThu, 02 Feb 2012 08:07:04 GMThttp://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/support@ac-markets.com (Swissquote Bank SA)http://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/market-session-snapshot/2012-02-02.htmlhttp://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/market-session-snapshot/2012-02-01.htmlMarket Brief The risk rally has juddered to a halt overnight, in spite of China’s manufacturing PMI coming out at a better than expected 50.5 (consensus 49.6, prior 50.3). The main beneficiary of the news in the currency space was AUD which enjoyed a temporary uptick, but overall the trend has been a renewed demand for dollars and loss of appetite for risk currencies. EURUSD started to lose upside momentum yesterday around the time that Eurozone unemployment data was released; revealing that,Wed, 01 Feb 2012 08:03:55 GMThttp://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/support@ac-markets.com (Swissquote Bank SA)http://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/market-session-snapshot/2012-02-01.htmlhttp://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/market-session-snapshot/2012-01-31.htmlMarket Brief The conclusion of the Eurozone summit yesterday brought no new progress on the Greek debt crisis, leading to a growing sense of realisation that European policy makers are running out of ideas. This in itself is unlikely to be a shock to the market, as investors and speculators have been pricing in scenarios of Greece default and Eurozone dispersion for some time now – even though politicians have been adamant this was not an option. Obviously, the official rhetoric from Europe’sTue, 31 Jan 2012 08:17:33 GMThttp://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/support@ac-markets.com (Swissquote Bank SA)http://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/market-session-snapshot/2012-01-31.htmlhttp://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/market-session-snapshot/2012-01-30.htmlMarket Brief EURUSD has started the week at new highs, reaching a peak of 1.3234 at the Asian open before paring back below 1.3150. This buoyancy comes in spite of fresh sovereign credit downgrades on Friday evening where Fitch lowered the rating on five European countries by at least one notch. The most notable targets on this occasion were Italy and Spain which were reclassified two notches lower, and Belgium which dropped one notch. The latest IMM positioning report revealed thatMon, 30 Jan 2012 07:58:08 GMThttp://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/support@ac-markets.com (Swissquote Bank SA)http://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/market-session-snapshot/2012-01-30.htmlhttp://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/market-session-snapshot/2012-01-27.htmlMarket Brief Since Wednesday’s exceedingly dovish Fed meeting, US bond yields have been under downward pressure and in turn we have seen USDJPY selling off sharply – reversing most of the gains made earlier in the week. This is not the direction that Japanese policymakers want to see the currency pair heading, as their discomfort with yen strength has been apparent for some time. Japanese Prime Minister Noda took his warnings to the market a notch higher overnight by saying he expects theFri, 27 Jan 2012 08:26:38 GMThttp://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/support@ac-markets.com (Swissquote Bank SA)http://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/market-session-snapshot/2012-01-27.htmlhttp://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/market-session-snapshot/2012-01-26.htmlMarket Brief Market chatter overnight has been dominated by last night’s FOMC meeting, where Fed members struck a noticeably dovish tone. Significantly, the committee pledged to keep rates on hold at their current ultra-low levels until late 2014 – and indeed some members voiced a preference to push that date back another year or two. In addition, Fed Chairman Bernanke clarified that the decision to keep rates on hold until late 2014 implied that asset sales (i.e. the reversal of pastThu, 26 Jan 2012 08:14:23 GMThttp://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/support@ac-markets.com (Swissquote Bank SA)http://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/market-session-snapshot/2012-01-26.htmlhttp://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/market-session-snapshot/2012-01-25.htmlMarket Brief The Australian dollar has been one of the outperformers during the Asian session after the core CPI data for Q4 came out firmer than expected. AUDUSD has rallied to highs of 1.0541, and if this momentum continues we may be on track to re-test Friday’s highs. In anticipation of tonight’s FOMC meeting, USDJPY has rallied to 77.98 highs, its strongest level in almost a month. This suggests FX traders expect the Fed to be a little less dovish this time around (perhaps due to theWed, 25 Jan 2012 08:44:58 GMThttp://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/support@ac-markets.com (Swissquote Bank SA)http://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/market-session-snapshot/2012-01-25.htmlhttp://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/market-session-snapshot/2012-01-24.htmlMarket Brief Much of Asia remains closed for the lunar New Year, and as such, thin liquidity has led to low participation in overnight trading. The BoJ announced their latest monetary policy decision in the latter part of the session, opting to keep interest rates at 0.00-0.10% and to downgrade their growth forecasts for the coming year. The revisions are a reflection of the central bank’s growing concern about European debt problems weighing on growth in the year ahead, and putting furtherTue, 24 Jan 2012 07:58:26 GMThttp://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/support@ac-markets.com (Swissquote Bank SA)http://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/market-session-snapshot/2012-01-24.htmlhttp://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/market-session-snapshot/2012-01-23.htmlMarket Brief EURUSD has started the week lower as the ongoing discussion between Greece and its private sector bond holders has not yet led to an agreement. The Institute of International Finance (IIF) has sounded optimistic that negotiations are steadily coming together, and that at present there is a proposal on the table which has been agreed in principal, but is now simply being vetted by the EU/IMF. However, market participants have been waiting anxiously for Greece talks to yieldMon, 23 Jan 2012 09:06:17 GMThttp://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/support@ac-markets.com (Swissquote Bank SA)http://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/market-session-snapshot/2012-01-23.htmlhttp://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/market-session-snapshot/2012-01-20.htmlMarket Brief EURUSD Rally Approaches 1.3000, Greek Talks Ongoing. As we draw to a close the third week of 2012, EURUSD is consolidating just below 1.3000 levels, having rallied steadily from 1.2624 lows on Monday. The reason for the move higher in the euro can be attributed to a number of factors; the most obvious being the way French and Spanish debt auctions were favourably received this week, in spit e of the glut of credit ratings downgrades applied by Standard & Poors last Friday. InFri, 20 Jan 2012 08:04:43 GMThttp://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/support@ac-markets.com (Swissquote Bank SA)http://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/market-session-snapshot/2012-01-20.htmlhttp://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/market-session-snapshot/2012-01-19.htmlMarket Brief It’s been a busy Asian session today, with a number of economic releases out of New Zealand, Australia and Japan. In New Zealand, Q4 CPI came out much lower than expected at -0.3% QoQ, 1.8% YoY, compared to expectations of 0.4% QoQ, 2.6% YoY. This sent NZDUSD tumbling 50 pips lower immediately following the release, and the pair has continued to drift downwards as the session has progressed – leaving NZD as the biggest underperformer against the dollar today. In comparison, theThu, 19 Jan 2012 08:07:15 GMThttp://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/support@ac-markets.com (Swissquote Bank SA)http://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/market-session-snapshot/2012-01-19.htmlhttp://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/market-session-snapshot/2012-01-18.htmlMarket Brief The main news overnight has been Japanese Finance Minister Azumi once again voicing his commitment to taking firm steps against speculative FX moves. Interestingly, he admitted that it would be difficult for the BoJ to follow the example of the SNB by defending a particular exchange rate for the yen, citing the vast size of the JPY market as a major hurdle to controlling supply. This is the first time an official has plainly ruled out such a strategy, and suggests that if the BoJWed, 18 Jan 2012 08:24:18 GMThttp://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/support@ac-markets.com (Swissquote Bank SA)http://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/market-session-snapshot/2012-01-18.htmlhttp://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/market-session-snapshot/2012-01-17.htmlMarket Brief Risk appetite has been boosted during the Asian session, sending equity indices higher and providing EURUSD with a temporary respite from the chronic gloom which has dogged the pair for some time. The trigger for this turnaround in sentiment was the overnight release of China’s Q4 real GDP which beat expectations at 8.9% YoY (8.7% expected, 9.1% prior). One of the biggest beneficiaries of this outperformance was AUDUSD; with strong demand taking the pair back up through 1.0400Tue, 17 Jan 2012 08:06:42 GMThttp://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/support@ac-markets.com (Swissquote Bank SA)http://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/market-session-snapshot/2012-01-17.htmlhttp://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/market-session-snapshot/2012-01-16.htmlMarket Brief Risk appetite soured quickly on Friday afternoon, with the euro falling sharply on rumours of imminent S&P downgrades. The ratings agency eventually confirmed that France and Austria had lost their AAA ratings, while Italy, Spain, Portugal and Cyprus each had their credit rating demoted two notches, and a handful of peripheral members also suffered single notch downgrades. This swathe of downgrades will only increase the urgency for European policy makers to find a solution toMon, 16 Jan 2012 08:02:41 GMThttp://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/support@ac-markets.com (Swissquote Bank SA)http://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/market-session-snapshot/2012-01-16.htmlhttp://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/market-session-snapshot/2012-01-13.htmlMarket Brief EURUSD has rallied well in the last 24 hours, prompted by the decent showing at Spain’s debt auction yesterday and the ECB press conference failing to fuel Eurozone pessimism. Central bank governor Mario Draghi acknowledged the challenges facing the economy going forward, but also pointed to “signs of stabilisation” which sounded a lot more optimistic than many had expected him to be in the current environment. He also expressed strong satisfaction for the results of the resultFri, 13 Jan 2012 08:07:41 GMThttp://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/support@ac-markets.com (Swissquote Bank SA)http://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/market-session-snapshot/2012-01-13.htmlhttp://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/market-session-snapshot/2012-01-12.htmlMarket Brief Asian equity markets have kicked off the day in a rather subdued fashion, with modest losses across most major indices. The Nikkei is down -0.7%, Hang Seng -0.3%, and Shanghai Composite -0.1%. EURUSD has remained under pressure in the last 24 hours, as risk sentiment has waned and the market awaits the ECB monetary policy meeting later in the day. While consensus estimates are looking for no change in the Eurozone’s refinancing rate which currently stands at 1.00%, there are someThu, 12 Jan 2012 08:08:15 GMThttp://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/support@ac-markets.com (Swissquote Bank SA)http://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/market-session-snapshot/2012-01-12.htmlhttp://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/market-session-snapshot/2012-01-11.htmlMarket Brief Yesterday was a strong day for equity markets, with European bourses posting healthy gains and US indices also trading higher before the bout of Fed speakers started. Most of the rhetoric from US policymakers struck a dovish tone, with Cleveland Fed President Pianalto noting that inflation would dip below 2% in the first six months of this year, and that the US still “needed to get its fiscal house in order”. Meanwhile, San Francisco Fed President Williams kept the door open toWed, 11 Jan 2012 08:13:05 GMThttp://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/support@ac-markets.com (Swissquote Bank SA)http://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/market-session-snapshot/2012-01-11.htmlhttp://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/market-session-snapshot/2012-01-10.htmlMarket Brief Asian equity indices have started the day strongly after Chinese trade data revealed a much higher than expected surplus for the month of December. Despite exports coming in precisely in line with expectations, imports came in significantly lower. We will have to wait until later in the month to see the breakdown of this figure, but if the drop turns out to be the result of lower demand for Australian commodities, we could see a sharp sell-off in not only AUD, but also risk assetsTue, 10 Jan 2012 08:03:45 GMThttp://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/support@ac-markets.com (Swissquote Bank SA)http://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/market-session-snapshot/2012-01-10.htmlhttp://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/market-session-snapshot/2012-01-09.htmlMarket Brief The headline event on Friday was the release of December’s non-farm payrolls and US unemployment rate, both of which came out much better than expected. Headline payrolls jumped by 200k (compared to expectations of 155k), and contrary to expectations that unemployment would rise from 8.6% to 8.7%, the reading actually fell to 8.5%. All this paints an encouraging picture of recovery within the US labour market, but the implications for the currency market were altogether less clearMon, 09 Jan 2012 08:02:53 GMThttp://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/support@ac-markets.com (Swissquote Bank SA)http://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/market-session-snapshot/2012-01-09.htmlhttp://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/market-session-snapshot/2012-01-06.htmlMarket Brief EURUSD hit fresh lows of 1.2764 in the Asian session, but volatility has been muted as markets await the upcoming non-farm payrolls release. Asian equity indices have struggled today with the Shanghai Composite the lone index managing to trade higher. Yesterday, under fire SNB Governor Philipp Hildebrand held a press conference in Zurich; with the aim of addressing media uproar that his wife made bets on the Swiss currency last year, shortly before the SNB conducted its massiveFri, 06 Jan 2012 07:47:11 GMThttp://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/support@ac-markets.com (Swissquote Bank SA)http://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/market-session-snapshot/2012-01-06.htmlhttp://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/market-session-snapshot/2012-01-05.htmlMarket Brief EURUSD topped out at 1.3074 yesterday, and then collapsed back down to 1.2898 lows in the afternoon. Even though the pair managed to stabilize at depressed levels overnight, it seems inevitable that the selling pressure returns at some point. Yesterday’s Eurozone CPI estimate for December was in line with expectations at 2.8% (down from 3.0% in the month prior), but this moderation in inflation is unlikely to make the Eurozone’s challenges much easier. Unlike the difficultiesThu, 05 Jan 2012 07:42:23 GMThttp://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/support@ac-markets.com (Swissquote Bank SA)http://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/market-session-snapshot/2012-01-05.htmlhttp://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/market-session-snapshot/2012-01-04.htmlMarket Brief Asian equity markets have been mixed overnight, with a lack of news events ensuring limited participation. Japanese bourses are open again after the holidays and the Nikkei is up 1.2% today, but the Hang Seng is currently down -0.6% and Shanghai Composite -1.4%. Last night's FOMC minutes revealed that in future, the Fed will provide projections of how the committee expects the Fed Funds target will move going forward - similar to the forecasts provided by other central banks (theWed, 04 Jan 2012 07:45:27 GMThttp://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/support@ac-markets.com (Swissquote Bank SA)http://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/market-session-snapshot/2012-01-04.htmlhttp://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/market-session-snapshot/2012-01-03.htmlMarket Brief With Asian markets returning to normality after the holidays (albeit with Japan still out), risk appetite has started strongly. Most risk currencies and Asian equity indices are trading higher this morning, buoyed in part by the strong Chinese non-manufacturing PMI released this morning. The survey increased to 56.0 in December, up from 49.7 in November – and follows an unexpectedly strong manufacturing PMI out of China on Sunday (50.3 compared to forecasts for 49.1). The mainTue, 03 Jan 2012 08:19:46 GMThttp://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/support@ac-markets.com (Swissquote Bank SA)http://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/market-session-snapshot/2012-01-03.htmlhttp://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/market-session-snapshot/2012-01-02.htmlMarket Brief Financial markets are beginning the week in rather a quiet fashion as most regional centres remain on holiday following the new year. The euro is still under pressure however, with the latest IMM positioning report revealing that short bets on the euro are at record highs, and EURJPY dipping to lows of 98.66 – its lowest level since December 2000. Plenty of pro-Eurozone rhetoric from European leaders has failed to push the currency higher, and scrutiny on the single currency’sMon, 02 Jan 2012 08:40:04 GMThttp://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/support@ac-markets.com (Swissquote Bank SA)http://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/market-session-snapshot/2012-01-02.htmlhttp://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/market-session-snapshot/2011-12-30.htmlMarket Brief EURUSD hit fresh lows of 1.2858 yesterday, after an Italian auction of long-term debt did not go nearly as well as the shorter term auctions the day before. The yield on 10-year bonds was just a whisker lower than the unsustainable 7% level (at 6.979%), and in spite of the Treasury aiming sell EUR8.5bn of its debt, only around EUR7bn could be placed. The silver lining to be gleaned from the event was that yields on bonds with maturities between 3 and 10 years were all lower thanFri, 30 Dec 2011 08:17:24 GMThttp://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/support@ac-markets.com (Swissquote Bank SA)http://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/market-session-snapshot/2011-12-30.htmlhttp://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/market-session-snapshot/2011-12-29.htmlMarket Brief Financial markets may look deceptively subdued again today, but there is a notable difference between this morning and the start of previous sessions this week. Negative euro sentiment has seemingly returned from vacation before the start of the new year, taking EURUSD down to lows of 1.2888 – a collapse of almost 200 pips from yesterday morning’s levels. Perhaps surprisingly, the scheduled auction of Italian debt did not appear to be the key driver of the euro move. Italy’sThu, 29 Dec 2011 08:10:30 GMThttp://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/support@ac-markets.com (Swissquote Bank SA)http://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/market-session-snapshot/2011-12-29.htmlhttp://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/market-session-snapshot/2011-12-28.htmlMarket Brief FX markets have continued to experience very low volatility over the past 24 hours, with little in the way of news or events to stimulate much trading activity. EURUSD remains around 1.3060 levels, and USDJPY is still lodged in its long-standing range between 77.75 -78.00. Asian equity markets have struggled once again today with the Nikkei once again trading lower by -0.2% and the Hang Seng -0.7%. Earlier in the Asian session we got a glut of data out of Japan, but there was notWed, 28 Dec 2011 07:55:25 GMThttp://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/support@ac-markets.com (Swissquote Bank SA)http://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/market-session-snapshot/2011-12-28.htmlhttp://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/market-session-snapshot/2011-12-27.htmlMarket Brief FX liquidity still feels thin today as the holiday season and lack of economic events leaves the market rather subdued. During the Asian session, Japan’s latest monetary policy meeting minutes were released – both for the regular 15-16 Nov meeting, and the unscheduled 30 Nov meeting. The BoJ underlined that the Japanese banking sector was not struggling with funding issues themselves, but added that the possibility could not be ruled out. As a reminder, the BoJ took part inTue, 27 Dec 2011 09:03:04 GMThttp://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/support@ac-markets.com (Swissquote Bank SA)http://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/market-session-snapshot/2011-12-27.htmlhttp://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/market-session-snapshot/2011-12-23.htmlMarket Brief During a quite Asian session, there has been steady but light buying across the board, with the Hang Seng 1.09% and Shanghai Composite 0.57%, however the lack of forward momentum is expected to weigh on risk assets into the European session. Yesterday equity markets were mildly higher on US, continuing its 3 day rally, as consumer sentiment rose and a surprising drop in weekly jobless claims. EURUSD was able to rally to 1.3096 from 1.3050 while AUDUSD in light flow climbed toFri, 23 Dec 2011 07:52:16 GMThttp://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/support@ac-markets.com (Swissquote Bank SA)http://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/market-session-snapshot/2011-12-23.htmlhttp://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/market-session-snapshot/2011-12-22.htmlMarket Brief Risk appetite remains on a precarious footing today, with Asian equity markets broadly lower; the Nikkei is down -0.8%, Hang Seng -0.4% and Shanghai Composite -0.2%.Yesterday’s highly anticipated ECB lending operation failed to install much long-lasting confidence in the European outlook; in spite of a much larger than expected uptake of almost EUR490bn, the euro sold off aggressively in the afternoon session, hitting lows of 1.3025. Meanwhile the Bank of England released theThu, 22 Dec 2011 07:51:23 GMThttp://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/support@ac-markets.com (Swissquote Bank SA)http://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/market-session-snapshot/2011-12-22.htmlhttp://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/market-session-snapshot/2011-12-21.htmlMarket Brief Risk appetite is on a slightly stronger footing today as markets anticipate the first of the ECB’s long-term refinancing operations (LTROs) later in the session. The obviously beneficiary in the last 24 hours has been EURUSD which is now trading back above 1.3100 levels, and equities are also having a decent day; the Nikkei is +1.5% and Hang Seng +1.4% (although the Shanghai Composite is the notable underperformer trading down -1.1%). Overnight, the BoJ had its final scheduledWed, 21 Dec 2011 07:59:39 GMThttp://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/support@ac-markets.com (Swissquote Bank SA)http://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/market-session-snapshot/2011-12-21.htmlhttp://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/market-session-snapshot/2011-12-20.htmlMarket Brief Market sentiment has remained in a fragile and wary state as yesterday’s Ecofin conference call failed to produce a result in line with investors’ high expectations. There was some progress made as an extra EUR 150bn in IMF funding was secured; however markets had been hoping this figure might reach EUR200bn, so the actual result was a little underwhelming. In addition, only four non-Eurozone nations volunteered to participate – a sign of increasing loss of appetite from the widerTue, 20 Dec 2011 08:26:26 GMThttp://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/support@ac-markets.com (Swissquote Bank SA)http://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/market-session-snapshot/2011-12-20.htmlhttp://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/market-session-snapshot/2011-12-19.htmlMarket Brief The start of a new week has brought with it the news that North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il has passed away; an announcement that initially coincided with a short burst higher for USDJPY to highs of 78.17, but which has otherwise had a limited effect on FX markets. Concerns surrounding the future of Eurozone continue to hamper risk sentiment, with ratings agency Fitch putting a number of Eurozone countries on negative watch late on Friday. France, Spain, Italy, Ireland, Slovenia andMon, 19 Dec 2011 08:09:58 GMThttp://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/support@ac-markets.com (Swissquote Bank SA)http://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/market-session-snapshot/2011-12-19.htmlhttp://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/market-session-snapshot/2011-12-16.htmlMarket Brief Yesterday’s session was headlined by the SNB’s latest monetary policy meeting, amid swirling rumours of a rise in the EURCHF exchange rate floor. Instead however, Swiss policy makers opted to keep policy unchanged, leaving interest rates at 0.00% and the EURCHF floor at 1.2000. The statement offered very little new information other than some mild adjustments lower for growth and inflation in the coming years; but the deterioration in their outlook was not deemed to be severeFri, 16 Dec 2011 08:11:09 GMThttp://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/support@ac-markets.com (Swissquote Bank SA)http://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/market-view/market-session-snapshot/2011-12-16.html