Currency Trading Commentary: 14 May
Friday night’s action saw risk currencies lose ground, as equities and commodities put in a mixed performance.
The Aussie dollar slipped lower, with the AUDUSD giving up 0.6% to settle at 1.0031 at this morning’s NY close, and the AUDJPY letting go of 0.6% to settle 80.17.
During today’s Asian session the Aussie dollar slipped below parity against the greenback for the first time in approximately six months, with the pair reaching down to 0.9996 before bouncing a touch to presently be trading back above the 1.0000 handle.
Back to Friday night’s action, the euro fell to its lowest level in more than three months as European officials begin to weigh the prospect of Greece withdrawing from the currency union.
The EURUSD let go of 0.2% to settle at 1.2923, whilst the EURJPY shed 0.2% to 103.28.
The British pound has become currency traders’ favourite refuge from the resurgent European debt crisis, threatening efforts by U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron to lift the economy out of its second recession in three years.
Whilst sterling was weaker against the euro and greenback on Friday night, the pound has climbed 3.4% this year, the most among 10 developed-market peers, data compiled by Bloomberg show.
Canada’s dollar rose against all of its 16 most-traded peers except the yen and the US dollar after employment climbed, fuelling bets the central bank will be the first in the Group of Seven nations to raise interest rates.