The US Dollar positive wave came crashing to shore shortly into the new Asian trading week, as the carry over from Fridays US equity rally in the face of poor employment data was quickly and dramatically forgotten. With a quick move out of the gate, USD/JPY surged to highs not seen in about a month, at levels just over 92.40, but from there the move reversed, and the slide was a rapid one, putting the Yen at levels near 91.10 by the sessions close. With risk aversion put to the backseat early, the Crosses were bought with great vigor, pushing EUR/JPY to just under 120.00 before risk aversion then jumped back behind the wheel and took control. EUR/JPY, leading the charge, slid to 117.50 as of this writing. The dramatic rise in equities on Friday caused a weaker Yen across the board early, however the reversal was sparked as Japanese exporters stepped in with offers and the Nikkei quickly turned to the negative. EUR/USD was pretty much dragged by the EUR/JPY moves, hitting an early high of 1.2991 before slipping close to the 1.2900 figure as London awoke. The theme of this week, (at least the early part of it) will be the Obama Financial Stability Plan, set to be unveiled by Treasury Secretary Geithner on Tuesday, at 16:00GMT. This plan has become the single focus of the FX market; with all other data taking a backseat to what will surely be a historic day for the US economy.
Upcoming Economic Data Releases (London Session):
| 2/9/2009 | 7:00 | GE | Trade Balance | DEC | 9.7B | 8.2B |
| 2/9/2009 | 7:00 | GE | Current Account (EURO) | DEC | 8.6B | 7.5B |
| 2/9/2009 | 7:00 | GE | Imports SA (MoM) | DEC | -5.60% | -3.90% |
| 2/9/2009 | 7:00 | GE | Exports SA (MoM) | DEC | -10.60% | -4.00% |
| 2/9/2009 | 7:30 | FR | Bank of France Bus. Sentiment | JAN | 66 | 68 |
| 2/9/2009 | 9:30 | EC | Sentix Investor Confidence | FEB | -34.4 | -31.5 |
