Daily Forex News

The Canadian dollar soared to its highest level in almost 2-months against the Aussie in early trading on Friday. But the loonie slipped to a 3-day low against the greenback and a 2-day low against the yen as the crude oil prices were under $42 a barrel today, after falling nearly 2 percent overnight, weighed down by another round of grim U.S. economic data reflecting faltering demand in the world’s top energy consumer. Against the euro, the loonie eased from a 17-day high.

Extending Asian session’s downtrend, the euro slumped to new multi-day lows against its major counterparts in early European trading on Friday as the Euro-zone inflationary pressures declined further in January.

Friday in Asia, the Australian dollar plunged to a new multi-week low against its Canadian counterpart as investors pulled back from riskier assets after a report showed that Australia’s private sector credit shrank for the first time since 1992 in December. The Aussie declined to a 1-week low against the greenback, a 15-day low against the euro and a 4-day low against the yen.

Friday morning, the Indian rupee slipped to a 1-week low against the US dollar on an increased dollar demand by banks and concerns over fund outflows from the weak domestic equity markets in tandem with falling Asian bourses.

Friday in Asia, the South Korean won slipped to a 2-day low against the yen as South Korea’s industrial production declined more than expected in December. But the won recovered from a 2-day low against the dollar.

Friday in Asia, the US dollar jumped to a 4-day high against the euro as deepening concerns over the global recession increased the appeal of the U.S. currency as a haven from the financial crisis. The dollar also edged up against the pound and the franc. But the dollar weakened to a 2-day low against the yen.

In early trading on Friday, the US dollar surged to a 1-week high against the Indian rupee. The dollar also strengthened to a 4-day high against the Philippine peso and a 2-day high against the currencies of Malaysia and South Korea.

Thursday, the US dollar extended its yesterday’s uptrend against European major currencies as the US House of Representatives have passed the $825 billion mega stimulus package yesterday, which is aimed at reviving American economy that is reeling under the worst ever crisis since the great depression of last century. The dollar rose to a 3-day high against the euro and the franc and a 2-day high against the pound.

During early deals on Thursday, the Canadian dollar edged down against the currencies of US and Japan and the crude oil prices dipped below $42 a barrel today as rising U.S. crude inventories offset expectations the U.S. stimulus package will revive growth and consumer demand.

Thursday in Asia, the New Zealand dollar was under heavy selling pressure as the Reserve Bank of New Zealand unexpectedly slashed its interest rate by 150 bps to a record low of 3.5%, reducing the appeal of the nation’s assets. The NZ dollar tumbled to a fresh 17-year low against the euro, 6-year low against the greenback, 6-month low against the aussie and a 3-day low against the yen.