And so the Asian week ends in a relatively quiet fashion, with the US Dollar higher versus the Yen, and lower versus the Euro. Asian equities also followed the lead of US stocks and climbed higher on news that the Obama administration has a plan in the works to help homeowners in need with their mortgages. USD/JPY saw an initial wave of Yen buying on the Asia open, topping out near 90.50 before Japanese pension funds stepped in and started to buy the USD/JPY pair up to the session high of 91.25. USD/JPY eventually leveled out at the 91.00 figure as the London session geared up for the day. EUR/USD was also higher today moving from 1.2850 lows to just over 1.2940 as a high water mark, as the EUR/JPY pair helped support the Euro in what has turned into a nice rally since the NY morning. EUR/JPY grinded higher as risk aversion fled the markets, the pair gained from 116.50 to tap above the 118.00 level before exiting Asian trading at 117.50 levels. Many traders have the upcoming G7 meeting in Rome this weekend in their sights although it is unlikely the G7 will issue any strong message pertaining to the currency market. G7 statements usually consist of the members saying that they are ''monitoring any excessive moves in the FX markets'', so anything more than that especially talk of the British Pound would in fact be newsworthy. Please keep in mind that Monday in the US is Presidents Day and Wall Street will be closed. Enjoy the weekend.
Upcoming Economic Data Releases (London Session):
| 2/13/2009 | 7:00 | GE | GDP s.a. (QOQ) | 4Q P | -0.50% | -1.80% |
| 2/13/2009 | 7:00 | GE | GDP wda (YoY) | 4Q P | 0.80% | -1.40% |
| 2/13/2009 | 7:00 | GE | GDP nsa (YoY) | 4Q P | 1.30% | -1.30% |
| 2/13/2009 | 7:45 | FR | Non-Farm Payrolls (QoQ) | 4Q P | -0.30% | -0.50% |
| 2/13/2009 | 7:45 | FR | Wages (QoQ) | 4Q P | 0.70% | 0.40% |
| 2/13/2009 | 7:45 | FR | Central Govt. Balance (Euros) | DEC | -66.6B | - - |
| 2/13/2009 | 7:50 | FR | Gross Domestic Product (QoQ) | 4Q P | 0.10% | -1.20% |
| 2/13/2009 | 7:50 | FR | Gross Domestic Product (YoY) | 4Q P | 0.60% | -0.90% |
| 2/13/2009 | 8:00 | GE | Bundestag to Vote on Second Stimulus Package | 13-Feb | ||
| 2/13/2009 | 8:15 | SZ | Producer & Import Prices (MoM) | JAN | -0.70% | 0.00% |
| 2/13/2009 | 8:15 | SZ | Producer & Import Prices (YoY) | JAN | 0.40% | -0.10% |
| 2/13/2009 | 10:00 | EC | Euro-Zone GDP s.a. (QoQ) | 4Q A | -0.20% | -1.30% |
| 2/13/2009 | 10:00 | EC | Euro-Zone GDP s.a. (YoY) | 4Q A | 0.60% | -1.10% |
