QE3 arrives
This has been quite a momentous week on the currency markets. On Wednesday, the German constitutional court okay-ed the German governments contribution to the European Stability Mechanism (ESM), removing one potential obstacle in the Forex markets. It means the Eurozone countries have a backstop, for now. The Euro is trading close to 1.3100 against the US Dollar as I write this piece. A couple of months ago, the Euro was trading at 1.2250 and heading south. I would not have predicted a rise of this nature. So what has caused it? It is certainly not the strong Eurozone economy, that’s...
Read MoreBritish summer and Draghi
A week ago, Mario Draghi, the head of the ECB was in London giving a speech. During that speech, he heaped support on the Euro project and actions in the pipeline to support it. It was not a case of doing something, but whatever was done would result in the end of the Euro crisis and there was no need to short the Euro any more. Wow. A week later, the ECB held its monthly meeting and was widely expected to do something. No-one knew what exactly, but it had to do something. The speech of last week caused a huge rally in the value of the Euro and a significant easing in the interest rates paid...
Read MoreCentral bank power
When it comes to trading currencies in the forex markets, there is no-one to fear more than a central bank and comments made by them. Right now, the Federal Reserve (FED) are in committee, determining whether to intervene in the US economy. If they do, they will decide how and when to do it. In a market where trillions of dollars are traded daily, few institutions can affect the value of a currency as much as a central bank. An example earlier today is sterling (GBPUSD) as the minutes from the Bank of England meeting were released. The minutes had more impact on the currency than the actual...
Read MoreWhat is a Euro worth?
I spent yesterday with many other traders at a trading conference in London. An enjoyable day in good company listening to some very good presentations and panel discussions. Naturally, there were many questions about the Euro and Greece’s (future) participation in it. It is fair to say that pretty much everyone in the room (there were a couple of hundred or more) had a negative view of the value of the Euro. But why? What is a fair price? Hasn’t all of the downside risk already been priced in? Wouldn’t the Euro be stronger without Greece? Once you start asking these...
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