A bleak US retail sales was something of a wake up call to investors, pinching them back to reality that the economy might have a ways to go before being labeled healthy.
This dark cloud drove US and Asian equities lower and turned traders back toward the battered US Dollar and Japanese Yen, which both enjoyed strong showings, particularly the Dollar. The EUR/USD began the Asian session pretty much at the high, which was a pip over the 1.3600 figure, and quite a distance from the 137.20 levels of just one day ago. The Pair bottomed out at 1.3525 before a slight rebound to the 1.3570 area as the day wound down. The Dollar just looked good today across the whole FX spectrum, which is a change of pace for the Greenback, which of late has been a punching bag for other currencies. The currency markets have be closely linked to equities, and in turn investor sentiment, which turned gloomy today as equities fell.
GBP/USD dropped a solid 60 pips from the high of 1.51600 before paring 30 pips late in the day, and against the Yen, the Dollar hit a 95.74 high after the Yen was registering a six week high at 95.13. EUR/JPY hit a two week low of 128.86 before blasting to new session highs of 129.96. The pair eventually settled down at levels near 129.60. USD/CHF broke 1.1110 before relaxing back at 1.1085 and the Aussie and Kiwi Dollars were both pretty much unchanged after being pummeled over the past 24 hours. Looking ahead to NY we have Unemployment claims as well as core PPI.....
Upcoming Economic Data Releases (London Session) prior expected
| 14-15 MAY | EC | ECB's Nowotny, Papademos, IMF's Strauss-Kahn Speak in Vienna | 15-May | |||
| 5/14/2009 | GE | Aleo Solar Releases First-Quarter Results | 14-May | |||
| 5/14/2009 | 7:00 | SZ | SNB Governing Board Member Thomas Jordan Holds Speech | 14-May | ||
| 5/14/2009 | 7:15 | SZ | Producer & Import Prices (MoM) | APR | -0.50% | 1.00% |
| 5/14/2009 | 7:15 | SZ | Producer & Import Prices (YoY) | APR | -2.80% | -2.60% |
| 5/14/2009 | 8:00 | GE | BMW Holds Annual Meeting | 14-May | ||
| 5/14/2009 | 8:00 | GE | Hugo Boss Holds Annual Shareholders Meeting | 14-May | ||
| 5/14/2009 | 8:00 | EC | ECB Publishes May. Monthly Report (Text) | 14-May | ||
| 5/14/2009 | 8:00 | EC | ECB's Papademos Speaks at Conference in Vienna | 14-May | ||
| 14-19 MAY | JN | Cabinet Office Monthly Economic Report | 19-May | |||
| 5/14/2009 | 9:00 | GE | German Carmakers' Lobby Head Wissmann Briefs Reporters, Berlin | 14-May | ||
| 5/14/2009 | 9:30 | FR | Sarkozy Gives Speech on Entrepreneurs Status | 14-May | ||
| 5/14/2009 | 10:00 | GE | Conergy Releases First-Quarter Earnings, Holds Conference | 14-May | ||
| 5/14/2009 | 10:00 | GE | Centrotherm Photovoltaics Releases First-Quarter Earnings | 14-May | ||
| 5/14/2009 | 10:30 | FR | Sarkozy Meets ECB's Trichet | 14-May |
