The rippling affect of recession and economic slowdown in America has left the Australian dollar on a slippery surface. As of now the AUD (Australian dollar) in comparison to the US dollar, in terms of bidding and asking prices is 0.8800 to 0.8808. There are various reasons attached to the downslide of the Australian dollar. One of the primary reasons is the wait and watch policy (investors are very closely monitoring the Australian economy) and this is having a negative affect on the value of the Australian dollar.  The Reserve Bank of Australia has indicated that a further interest rate cut in the mortgage sector is not a feasible option. At present the interest rate is at 3.75% and the analysts were expecting a further cut of 0.5%. This is the main and primary reason why the Australian dollar finds itself on a sticky surface.

Another very important reason why Australian dollar is under pressure is the fact that despite the improvement in the export sector of Japan (the latest data shows that exports has shown a positive, upward growth as far Japan is concerned) the country’s overall economic condition looks bleak, in case of Japan. Economic condition of Japan has a direct impact on the Australian economy. Australia exports a lot many stuff to Japan and in fact they are one of the main exporting destinations as far Australia is concerned (to be precise, the second, in terms of export ranking). The irony here is that though export has gone up in case of minerals like coal and iron ore (Australia is exporting a fair bit of these two minerals to Japan) but export of other items/ products have not picked up and in fact are showing no signs of recovery. This is another very important reason why the Australian dollar remains under pressure.

The international rating of Japan (credit rating) is still on the negative side as confirmed by S&P. This again has put a significant amount of pressure on the Australian dollar. In case you are planning to buy the Australian dollar against United Kingdom’s pound then it is advisable that you should freeze the deal at 2.2000.

The year 2008 was bad, to put it mildly, in terms of recession and economic downturn/ slowdown in the United States of America. It was no different in the year 2009, perhaps even worse, it seemed as if the economy of the US was in a free fall. It is therefore not at all surprising that US dollar lost lots of its sheen and hence its value. To rouse the economy of the country the Government went ahead with another cut in the interest rates of the Federal Reserve. It was or rather is a misconception that these stimulus packages offered by the Government to bail out the economy will further plunge the value of US dollar.

It is not surprising to predict that the year 2010 will see the US dollar making a very strong recovery as compared to its counterparts (other strong currencies). We have started seeing the US dollar making a recovery in the past fifteen to twenty days and the year ahead seems to bring a lot cheer to those who have kept their cool and held on to the US dollar. It is also not astonishing and surprising to note that the last two quarterly results have been on the positive side and this has given the fillip, which was required for the US dollar to bounce back.

The positive sentiment of the recovery of the US dollar can be seen in the international currency market if you take a closer look at the figures and charts (international currency rates and charts). US dollar against European Euro, US dollar against Japanese Yen, US dollar against Australian dollar and US dollar against UK’s pound, etc. are all showing a positive tilt in favor of the US dollar. All you have to do is take a closer look at the increasing strength of the US dollar against most of the other strong currencies of the world.

A fair bit can be interpreted through the following figures: US dollar in comparison to the Japanese yen, as on date is 90.840 (bidding price) / 90.850 (asking price) and that of the Australian dollar in comparison to the US dollar is 0.8862 (bidding price) / 0.8866 (asking price). These two examples clearly show that the dollar is steadily gaining ground and the year 2010 will see a strong US dollar once again.

The Australian dollar managed to gain versus

lower-yielding currencies before a report to be released this week in the country is likely to show an advance in inflation in the last year’s last quarter, helping speculations that a series of interest rates in the country will restart.

The Aussie rebounded after losing versus most of lower-yielding currencies last week as risk aversion remained predominant in majority of trading hours. Investors in the South Pacific region are waiting an inflation report to be released on Jan 27th expecting positive numbers as forecasts suggest an advance for the country’s prices in the last quarter of 2009, which would provide grounds for a new series of interest rate hikes by Australian policy makers.

AUD/USD traded at 0.9053 as of 00:09 GMT from a previous rate 0.9034 when markets opened Sunday evening.

If you want to comment on the Australian dollar’s recent action or have any questions regarding this currency, please, feel free to reply below.

This Friday’s shift in market sentiment allowed the U.S. dollar to post a weekly advance versus most of the main

higher-yielding currencies, as risk aversion rose globally and traders opted by the relative safety provided by dollar-priced assets.

The dollar gained significantly versus commodity producer currencies like the Brazilian Real and the Australian dollar towards the end of this week as China’s new lending restrictions raised concerns that demand for raw materials may decline in the country, affecting exports from these countries. The dollar also reverted a losing trend versus the euro and ended the week with a positive result as some of its member countries increasing budget deficit are raising speculations that the currency attractiveness may be impacted among traders, making the European single currency to drop sharply in this week’s last trading session.

Even if economic data published in the U.S. during this week was below forecasts, pessimism was stronger and allowed not only the dollar, but also the yen to outperform most of main trading currencies towards the end of the week. Fed rate hikes speculations declined significantly, but the dollar may continue to sustain its current levels as uncertainty regarding the global economy remains considerable.

EUR/USD closed the week at 1.4381 from 1.4505. NZD/USD closed the week at 0.7368 from 0.7424 on Thursday.

If you want to comment on the U.S. dollar’s recent action or have any questions regarding this currency, please, feel free to reply below.

The Australian dollar was one of the most affected currencies today as speculations that Chinese lending requirements will slow down the global economic recovery impacted traders’ sentiment, declining appetite for

high-yielding currencies.

The Aussie and the kiwi declined today versus most of the main 16 traded currencies, after one of its main trading partners, China, is likely to reduce property loans after the government set new restrictions for lending money in the nation’s banks, fueling speculations of an economic slowdown and consequently raising risk aversion in trading markets towards the end of this week’s session.

AUD/CAD traded at 0.9502 as of 19:02 GMT from a previous rate of 0.9525 yesterday.

If you want to comment on the Australian dollar’s recent action or have any questions regarding this currency, please, feel free to reply below.

Once again interest rates are fueling a rally for the Aussie dollar as it happened in the second half of the last year, when the South Pacific currency ranked among the best performing options in

foreign-exchange markets.

Positive employment data published in Australia this Wednesday is helping the Aussie to rally to high levels versus most of the main traded currencies, as a declining unemployment rate, currently at 5.5 percent and much better than other key-economic regions in the world, is fueling speculations that interest rates will be once again hiked in the country next month.

AUD/USD traded at 0.9315 as of 00:11 GMT from a previous intraday rate of 0.9241.

If you want to comment on the Australian dollar’s recent action or have any questions regarding this currency, please, feel free to reply below.

The Australian dollar climbed after employment figures were published in the country with

better-than-expected numbers, adding confidence that the economic recovery in the country is accelerating its pace, spurring demand for assets in the South Pacific region.

After unemployment in Australia declined to 5.5 percent and surprised forecasts that expected an increase, the Aussie dollar gained versus most of the main traded currencies, specially lower-yielding options like the Japanese yen, impacted by the growing risk appetite in Australia.

AUD/CAD traded at 0.9579 as of 02:27 GMT from 0.9504 hours before the employment figures were published in Australia.

If you want to comment on the Australian dollar’s recent action or have any questions regarding this currency, please, feel free to reply below.

The Australian dollar fell sharply versus

lower-yielding currencies today as a real estate report declined optimism regarding the South Pacific economy, in a day were commodities and equities markets which have a strong correlation with the Aussie, declined.

Basically everything worked against the Australian dollar today as a report in the country showed that new home loans decreased the most in more than a year, in a day were equities dropped and demand for commodities declined, after China imposed new lending requirements for banks.

AUD/USD declined to 0.9200 as of 19:38 GMT from a previous rate of 0.9310. AUD/JPY dropped to 83.64 from 85.64.

If you want to comment on the Australian dollar’s recent action or have any questions regarding this currency, please, feel free to reply below.

Risk aversion declined significantly today after China set a new reserves requirements for banks in the country, allowing the yen to outperform all of the 16 main traded currencies in

foreign-exchange markets, as pessimism surged.

Equities markets in Asia and globally declined today, raising demand for the yen, as China set a minimum of 16 percent of reserves that large banking corporations in the country must have, in order to avoid a credit bubble as the one that caused the global slump in late 2008. The yen is considered the safest refuge in currency markets for turbulent times and benefited from today’s negative scenario, as China’s policy decreased demand for high-yielding assets, which were trading high since the beginning of the year. The Australian dollar posted the sharpest losses versus the Japanese currency as loan approvals in the real estate sector declined.

China’s strict regulations declined optimism that were fueling demand for higher-yielding since the last week, according to analysts. The yen had declined significantly after several sessions losing versus most currencies, as today’s shift in markets sentiment was a good opportunity for it to level up.

AUD/JPY fell to 84.23 as of 15:45 GMT from a previous rate of 85.53 in the intraday comparison. CAD/JPY followed the same trend at 87.72 from 89.08.

If you want to comment on the Japanese yen’s recent action or have any questions regarding this currency, please, feel free to reply below.

The Canadian dollar returned to gain today as its chief export, the crude oil, rallied as demand for energy increases, favoring currencies with a similar profile in

foreign-exchange markets as the Australian dollar, which is a main commodity supplier for China.

The loonie, as the Canadian dollar is often referred, had the fourth day of advances in this week as the crude oil returned to trade high in commodity markets closing future contracts near $ 83 a barrel, helping the Canadian dollar to rally specially versus its U.S. counterpart as frustrating employment data declined attractiveness for the greenback during most of today’s session in North America. Commodity’s strength are pushing a new rally for the loonie which may eventually climb towards parity with the U.S. dollar, as long as this market scenario remains the same.

The Canadian dollar has being one of the most attractive currencies in the beginning of 2010 as its correlation to commodities and equities markets has been fueled the loonie’s rally since last December. The loonie may touch parity with the U.S. dollar in the following weeks if the Bank of Canada doesn’t intervene on its rally with statements or actual measures.

USD/CAD closed today at 1.0293 from a previous intraday rate of 1.0348. CAD/JPY remained neutral after high volatility at 89.94.

If you want to comment on the Canadian dollar’s recent action or have any questions regarding this currency, please, feel free to reply below.

The aussie dollar continued its upward trend yesterday, pushing on nearly one percent against the pound following bullish words from an RBA official.

• The Australian dollar rose as a Reserve Bank of Australia official said a move to “more normal” interest rates was appropriate, indicating that the yield gap may widen further.
• Philip Lowe, assistant governor of the RBA, also mentioned at the conference in Sydney that it was “appropriate” to remove monetary stimulus as the economy improves boosting demand for higher-yielding assets.
• The Australian currency also traded strongly during the Asian session with demand high as both the Nikkei and Shanghai Composite indices traded strongly.
• The RBA minutes from their most recent policy meeting, released early this morning, had a hawkish tone, which reinforced views of a steep interest rate hike next month.
• However, the aussie, which has broadly strengthened in response, is currently trading just marginally higher against the pound, with the price currently around 1.7650.

The Australian dollar continued to push higher yesterday, advancing over a cent as sentiment towards the higher-yielding currency remained positive.

• Commodity currencies, such as the aussie, made progress yesterday in line with stronger prices for oil and metals.
• Rallying global equity and commodity markets encouraged the rise in risk appetite in the market, which heightened demand for the aussie dollar.
• In the UK, the market still holds the view that further quantitative easing could be announced in November, which has put substantial pressure on the UK currency as other major economies look to wind up stimulus measures.
• In trading this morning, the pound has halted its steep decline, with the price currently flat as a weaker-than-expected business confidence survey stemmed demand for aussie assets.

The aussie climbed a further two cents yesterday as figures revealed rising employment in Australia, and as rising risk appetite supported strong demand for high yielding currencies.

• The Australian dollar continued to push higher as encouraging data from the labour market gave investors further cause to buy into Australian assets.
• The recent rate hike to 3.25% has increased the yield gap between the two currencies, and the recent downturn in unemployment has simply reinforced the sentiment that Australia is at the forefront of the global economic recovery, strengthening aussie demand.
• Additionally, gold prices pushed record highs for the third straight day yesterday, which supported demand for the commodity driven aussie dollar.
• The pound has slipped below the 1.77 mark in trading this morning, though its rate of decline has slowed following comments from Ben Bernanke
• The Fed Chairman spoke of the possibility of tightening the US monetary policy which has led some investors to trim their long positions in the aussie dollar.

The pound rebounded nearly two cents from its intra-day low against the aussie, halting its sharp slide and posting marginal gains of 0.2%, to close the day up at 1.7912.

• The Australian dollar has rallied strongly over the past two days following the surprise rate hike, but the aussie pulled backed yesterday as risk sentiment in the market dissipated.
• The high-yielding currency backtracked as equities took a downward turn and as investors sought defensive positions ahead of important statements in the UK and EU today.
• Additionally, analysts noted that market players may have over-bought the aussie, realising that it was only one central bank to raise rates and that similar moves from other nations may still be some way off.
• In trading today however, the Australian dollar’s upward trend has continued, already up 0.8% on the day, as strong employment data reinforced the pace of recovery in the nation.
• Overall unemployment fell to 5.7% in September, an improvement from 5.8% the previous month and beating out market expectations of 6.0%.

The Australian dollar continued to push record highs yesterday, supported by the RBA’s decision to raise rates as the global financial crisis eases.

• The aussie continued to rally strongly, gaining nearly three cents, a 1.4% movement, as investors sought to take advantage of the higher-yield now available on Australian assets.
• The Reserve Bank of Australia became the first of the G20 nations to raise their base cash rate and helped to ease fears over the state of global economic recovery.
• Analysts also noted that the widening yield advantage points to further aussie appreciation, particularly as the RBA, unlike other central banks, does not seem too concerned about their currency strength.
• Additionally, the pound was further undermined yesterday as a negative manufacturing figure resurrected fears over Britain’s third quarter growth rate, pushing the price lower.
• The aussie dollar continues to trade strongly in trading this morning, encouraged by rallying Asian equities, pushing the price down near 1.77.

Speculation over an imminent rate rise in Australia sent the pound tumbling yesterday, losing 1.5% to close at 1.8146.

• The Australian dollar advanced strongly as expectations grew that the Reserve Bank of Australia would move to raise interest rates at its policy meeting.
• Forecasters were split evenly over whether the Reserve Bank of Australia would keep rates on hold in their meeting tomorrow or wait until November or December to raise rates by 0.25 basis points.
• Expectations were given a further lift as figures yesterday showed that Australian job advertisements last month rose at their fastest pace since late 2007, fuelling optimism over the country’s recovery.
• This morning, the bullish speculators were proved correct as the Reserve Bank did indeed raise the official cash rate from a 49-year low to 3.25%, up 25 basis points.
• The move makes Australia the first G20 nation to raise their rates following a prolonged period of positive economic activity, and the pair are currently hovering marginally above 1.80.

The pound advanced a further cent against the aussie on Friday, building on strong gains, as investors remained cautious following weak US employment figures.

• The US economy suffered 263,000 job cuts in September, which was far more than had been expected according to official data, sapping demand for ‘riskier’ assets.
• The pound advanced to over 1.84 as investors sold off the risky currency amid concerns that the US recovery may not be as robust as initially thought.
• However, the pound did cap its gains, as the US data dragged down European equities, with the FTSE falling below 5000 points, which dampened confidence in the UK currency.
• This morning, the Australian dollar as advanced strongly, up nearly a percent, as speculation mounts that the country’s central bank could raise rates later this week.
• Investors had been pricing in a possible rate move in early November, but the probability of a move toward 3.25 is now possible as early as tomorrow’s meeting, following comments from two Australian media columnists.