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.

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The Canadian dollar ranked among the worst performers in currency markets today as risk aversion influenced commodities and equities trading, which are strongly related to the loonie’s rates as weak economic data in the country also influenced the confidence towards Canada’s currency.

Speculations that interest rates hikes would happen anytime soon in Canada faded further away as consumer prices retreated according to a report published today, which forced the loonie down in a day were demand for raw materials declined, affecting the outlook for the Canadian economy as half of the country’s exports are commodities. The U.S. dollar advanced sharply versus its Canadian counterpart ask risk aversion brought traders to purchase safer assets in the world’s wealthiest nation, pushing the loonie away from parity with the greenback this Wednesday in foreign-exchange markets.

A considerable amount of strength in the loonie’s rally since the beginning of the year was based on the fact that a fast paced recovery would improve odds of interest rate hikes by the Bank of Canada, which has not been confirmed or signaled by the Canadian financial authorities so far, decreasing attractiveness for the loonie. Today, the commodities market was also bearish, affecting demand for Canadian raw materials and causing a double impact on the loonie rates.

USD/CAD traded at 1.0472 as of 19:23 GMT from a previous rate of 1.0314 yesterday. CAD/JPY traded at 87.06 from 88.39.

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The Swiss currency finally felt the central bankers pressure and declined considerably versus most of its main trading partners’ currencies, on speculations that measures will be taken by the financial authorities to avoid the franc to gain.

The Swiss franc dropped even versus the European single currency as some of the bloc’s members are providing negative economic data, evidencing that the Swiss National Bank pressure to halt the franc’s rally is taking effect. The pound was one of the biggest winners versus the franc as the U.K.’s inflation rose beyond forecasts.

GBP/CHF traded at 1.6886 as of 22:31 GMT from a previous rate 1.6737 yesterday.

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The euro tumbled today versus most of the

key-currencies in Europe after Germany published an important economic confidence report with worse-than-expected data, declining attractiveness for the single currency as some of its member countries struggle with a growing budget deficit.

The European single currency dropped versus most of the 16 main traded currencies today as the outlook for the economic bloc declined considerably after theGerman ZEW Economic Sentiment report brought negative data to traders, which opted for other currencies in the region and overseas as Germany is the main economy currently using the euro. Greece’s deteriorating budget deficit is still a reason of big concern and is affecting the appeal for the euro, as the European Central Bank affirmed that further measures should be taken by the Southern European nation to solve its growing budget crisis. The pound climbed versus the euro as the U.K. posted a higher than expected annualized inflation rate.

Speculations that a slow down in the Eurozone recovery pace are already affecting the outlook for the currency, according to analysts. The region still has low interest rates, and the disparities among the bloc’s members are influencing traders who would rather invest in other regions for the moment.

EUR/USD traded at 1.4276 as of 17:26 GMT from a previous rate of 1.4391 yesterday. EUR/GBP declined to 0.8715 from 0.8815.

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The Canadian dollar fell today after the nation’s central bank left interest rates unchanged at an all time record low, declining rate hikes speculations despite the favorable economic data published in Canada during the past few weeks.

The loonie dropped versus most of the 16 most traded currencies today after the central bank affirmed that interest rates will remain unchanged until June, decreasing sharply the attractiveness for the loonie as traders expected the good performance of the Canadian economy to produce more immediate results in terms of interest rate hikes. The Bank of Canada also made a statement against the loonie’s strength, which, according to its officials, is a threat to the economic growth in the North American nation, forcing the loonie down specially versus its a stronger greenback that advanced versus all of the 16 main traded currencies.

The lack of a hawkish tone in Canada’s central bank declarations affected the outlook for the loonie, which have been gaining on speculations that stronger economic conditions in the country would allow the BOC to raise interest rates sooner than expected, but its dovish position and against a strong loonie will certainly be an obstacle for loonie’s further advances.

USD/CAD traded at 1.0320 as of 15:28 GMT from a previous rate of 1.0255 in the intraday comparison. CAD/JPY traded at 88.24 from 88.45.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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The Brazilian real posted the fourth straight day of decline versus the U.S. dollar as speculations suggest that the Treasury is likely to start a debt selling plan to buy dollars, declining attractiveness for the real in currency markets.

The real touched the weakest level in 2010 today as speculations suggest that overseas investors are leaving the country, and such capital outflows declined appeal for the emerging market South American currency. A Treasury plan that may be used to buy dollars also affected the real’s outlook, in another day of losses versus most of the main traded currencies this week.

USD/BRL traded at 1.7658 as of 20:03 GMT from an opening rate of 1.7405.

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Speculations that demand for commodities will continue to grow in the U.S. and globally are helping the Canadian dollar to benefit from this scenario as exportation of raw materials account for half of the country’s trading revenue.

The Canadian rose against almost all of the 16 main traded currencies as metallic and energetic commodities abundant in the country are experiencing a high demand as the global economic recovery spurs demand for raw materials. Canadian fundamentals are also stronger than most of its main trading partners, and the loonie rose versus the greenback today as U.S. retail sales declined, touching the highest level in three months versus its U.S. counterpart. The loonie also gained considerably versus the euro as several Eurozone member countries are struggling with deteriorating budget deficits.

Not only the demand for commodities but also the Canadian economy seems to perform better than the several wealthy nations as the U.S. and the U.K., this is bringing investors to the country, according to analysts. If the Bank of Canada doesn’t express concern, it is likely that the loonie will reach parity with the greenback at some point this year.

USD/CAD traded at 1.0252 as of 18:17 GMT from a previous rate of 1.0308 yesterday.

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The dollar had a mediocre performance today losing versus a considerable number of currencies after the nation’s central bank was not so optimistic regarding the U.S. economy recovery, declining appeal for the greenback.

The dollar posted a disappointing performance in a day were equities and commodities markets increased appeal for higher-yielding currencies. The British pound posted another advance versus the greenback as Bank of England’s policy markers signaled that interest rates in the U.K. are due to be hiked at some point this year. The Federal Reserve stated that a modest economic recovery is taking place in the U.S., fact which traders interpret as a delay in forecasts of interest rate raises, which is certainly declining the attractiveness that fueled a dollar rally versus most of the main traded currencies in December.

As speculations of immediate rate hikes fade away in the U.S., the greenback rates will be more determined by the pace of recovery in the country compared to other economic regions throughout the world, specially in Europe and Asia, where the main U.S. trading partners are located.

EUR/USD traded at 1.4506 as of 20:57 GMT from a previous intraday rate of 1.4480 yesterday, in a session of high volatility for the currency pair. GBP/USD trded at 1.6286 from 1.6171.

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After the SNB stated its position against further advances of its national currency, the Swiss Franc may be poised to decline versus main currencies, as fears of interventions are likely to shun investors from investing in the

franc-priced assets.

The Swiss franc gained during the late months of the last year versus the euro and the dollar, posting its highest monthly advance in December versus the European single currency in 2009, and trading in parity with the greenback in November, as the Swiss economy showed its strength and resilience, and declining odds of deflation were interpreted as a good chance for the currency to gain in foreign-exchange markets. Today, after months of silence, the Swiss National Bank stated through its officials that its currency appreciation would have been gone to far, and that further fluctuations of the Swiss franc will be monitored by central bankers, indicating that a further advance of the franc may be halted by more than just verbal interventions.

Speculations regarding future interventions in the Swiss currency rates open a good trading possibility for selling the franc versus other currencies, specially higher-yielding ones, as SNB’s position took today will not allow the franc to advance much further, declining attractiveness for the franc among the main currency pairs.

USD/CHF traded at 1.0169 as of 00:49 GMT from 1.0140 in the intraday, being rather unchanged following the SNB statement.

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The U.K. currency extended Friday’s gains versus the U.S. dollar today as global optimism helped speculations that an economic recovery in the U.K. will make its currency more attractive in

foreign-exchange markets.

A business report published today by a private company in the U.K. indicated that confidence regarding economic conditions has improved substantially in an annual comparison, helping the pound to post another day of gains versus the greenback after a Chinese trading report suggested that the global economic recovery expected for 2010 is so far being confirmed, as both exports and imports climbed in China.

GBP/USD traded at 1.6111 as of 23:08 GMT from 1.6069 when markets opened yesterday.

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The Swiss currency had its previous week rally versus currencies like the pound and the euro halted today after the national central bank took a position against further advances of the franc, as the current appreciation was considered excessive by SNB officials.

After a rally that lasted during most of the past week trading session, the Swiss National Bank President Philipp Hildebrand stated today that the franc’s fluctuations will be monitored closely, also signaling that policy makers will attempt to prevent further gains for the its currency, as current levels, specially versus the euro, are considered too high. The Swiss franc also advanced considerably last week versus the greenback, as bets that interest rates will be raised in the U.S. declined after negative data was released.

Most of the franc’s advance during the past month were based on speculations that the SNB authorities would take a rather passive policy regarding the currency’s fluctuations, but after today’s affirmations, it’s likely that the Swiss currency will experience a considerable decline, or at least, a rather neutral trend as fears for interventions will certainly count on trader’s sentiment towards the Swiss franc.

EUR/CHF currently trades at 1.4752, 15:52 GMT, from as 1.4722 when markets opened yesterday. GBP/CHF also climbed to 1.6391 from 1.6310.

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The U.S. currency was performing quite well during most of this week’s session as optimism regarding the U.S. economy was high, but the employment data published on Friday forced the greenback down versus most of the main traded currencies, as figures came much below forecasts.

The dollar posted the biggest weekly in two months as a non-farm payrolls report indicated more jobs cuts than expected, frustrating forecasts and declining odds that the Federal Reserve will lift stimulus and start a series of interest rate hikes that would happen sooner-than-expected, as some speculations suggested, if the economy accelerated at a faster pace. Among the most important traded currencies, U.K.’s pound was the only not able to beat the dollar, as the recession in the U.K. continues a reality, with quantitative measures used by the Bank of England being ineffective so far and the parliament failing to reach a consensus regarding the nation’s budget deficit.

Analysts were frustrated as this week’s U.S. data didn’t meet their expectations, and traders sold dollar positions after the non-farm payrolls report were published, considering that the greenback had been trading high during most of the week as optimism was intense. Next week will provide a monthly retail sales report, which will be the next key-report to determine the dollar’s trends.

EUR/USD closed the week at 1.4408 after being traded around the 1.4300 level before the payrolls report came to public this Friday.

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