Swiss Franc
Swissy Zeroing in on Par Against the Euro
August 9, 2011
The franc got as strong today as 1.0071 per euro. Not only was that a record high, but it constituted a leap of a shade over 51% from this relationship’s lifetime average. The euro, which has only been around for 11 years and seven months, has posted an average value over the whole period of […] More
Continuing Market Upheaval
August 9, 2011
Investors continue to wait in vain for governments and central banks to take action and stop the turbulence. The FOMC meets today and will release a statement at 16:15 GMT amid speculation that QE3 will be undertaken, but no press conference is scheduled. The ECB was again buying peripheral bonds today, and Spanish and Italian […] More
Some Fear the End of the World as We Know It
August 5, 2011
Investor psychology is best summed up in hit song titles sung by Barry McGuire, Eve of Destruction, and R.E.M., The End of the World as We Know It. The current mood is reminiscent of September 15, 2008 – March 9, 2009, the span of time between the failure of Lehman Brothers and the day that […] More
Swiss Franc Returns to Glory
July 26, 2011
Currencies that perennially appreciated were known as “hard currencies” in the early days of floating exchange rates, and the Swiss franc was the king of the hard currencies. No other currency could match it stride for stride, and Swiss officials at times implemented extraordinary measures to contain that power, even for a while imposing negative […] More
Focus on the Euro
June 24, 2011
The perceived insolvency of Greece continues to temper the euro’s strength. The common currency as of 18:00 GMT today was trading at $1.4176, down from Friday closing levels of 1.4289 on June 17, $1.4337 on June 10 and $1.4625 on June 3. A 2011 peak of $1.4941 on set on May 4. The euro has […] More
Yen Intervention Just One of Several Currency Market Themes
March 18, 2011
Using many arguments, analysts like to downplay the usefulness and effectiveness of currency market intervention whenever that policy tool is employed. They say central banks lack the firepower to move a market with daily volume that exceeds $4 trillion, that intervention gives speculators an opportunity to book profits, and that only intervention that is done […] More
A Murkier Currency Market Outlook Due to the Uncertain Fate of Oil Prices
February 25, 2011
A risk remains that oil and other commodity prices will remain extremely volatile in the period ahead. The market is trading on political news headlines and therefore intrinsically less stable than when markets march to the beat of economic data. At the high of $103.41 per barrel yesterday, oil prices had shot up 22.6% since […] More
The First Six Weeks of 2011 in Forex
February 13, 2011
Major dollar relationships have traded in generally narrow ranges for the most part so far this year. A number of themes have emerged, which in the aggregate have not imparted any cumulating movement to currency markets. Investors are watching The U.S. labor market. While the growth of jobs has remained slow, the unemployment rate and […] More
Forex Marking Time
January 28, 2011
Four weeks into the year, it remains unclear who will be the big currency market winners and losers of 2011 or how this year might shape up differently from the last one. In 2010, the dollar appreciated 7.0% against the euro but declined by 12.2%, 11.9% and 9.8% against the Australian dollar, Japanese yen, and […] More
Swissy Ending a Strong Year on a Strong Note
December 30, 2010
Most markets will be shut tomorrow in observance of the new year. The dollar lost another 0.7% against the Swiss franc and set a new record high of CHF 0.9372. The franc is 19.1% stronger than its end-2009 level against the euro. The Chinese yuan advanced 0.3% against the dollar, bringing its cumulative appreciation in […] More
