The Yen had a bit of a reprieve today in Asia as it managed to turn around the freefall it has been in for the better part of this week. USD/JPY started out with a push to early highs of 98.34 and from there the Yen gained ground as it moved to 97.52 before exiting the session close to 97.80. Against the Euro the path was similar, as EUR/JPY hit an early high of 132.56 and slid from there to just over 131.05. Trade Balance data in Japan showed a surplus for the first time in five months, (up 82 Billion Yen as opposed to a projected deficit of 10.9 Billion Yen), but this did not contribute to any moves. Although a nice surprise, the data still represents almost a 90% drop from last year. In Europe, the EUR/USD played in a fifty or so pip range between 1.3496 and 1.3441, with the Dollar gaining some strength as US President Obama touted the US Currency's strength in a televised speech. Obama also dismissed the call from China to create a new global currency regulated by the IMF to replace the Greenback, stating that the US government and economy represent stability and security.
Don't expect the talk of this new proposed global currency to die down before the upcoming G20 meeting in London.
The AUD/USD got close to 0.7000 again, but couldn't break it, and subsequently dropped to 0.6940 ahead of the upcoming speech by RBA Governor Glenn Stevens at 7:30GMT.
Besides this speech, look for the German Ifo data at 9:00GMT as the only real significant event of the London session................
Upcoming Economic Data Releases (London Session):
| 3/25/2009 | 7:30 | AU | RBA Governor Stevens Gives Speech in Melbourne | 25-Mar | ||
| 3/25/2009 | 9:00 | GE | IFO - Business Climate | MAR | 82.6 | 82.2 |
| 3/25/2009 | 9:00 | GE | IFO - Current Assessment | MAR | 84.3 | 82.5 |
| 3/25/2009 | 9:00 | GE | IFO - Expectations | MAR | 80.9 | 81.5 |
| 3/25/2009 | 10:00 | SZ | SNB Releases Monetary Policy Report | 25-Mar | ||
| 3/25/2009 | 11:00 | UK | U.K. CBI March Distributive Trades | 25-Mar |
