- IMF’s Lagarde: Must step up IMF’s lending capacity, weighing options with members on new loan capacity
- IMF’s Lagarde: EFSF funds should be “rolled over” to ESM
- German Budget spokesman: Discussing proposals for running ESM and EFSF in tandem
- Germany’s Merkel: EFSF must become fully operational quickly
- Greek spokesman Kapsis: No chance of debt swap deal collapsing
- German auction result
- German FinMin: Greece must implement promised reforms. Euro leaders on “good path” to crisis resolution
- ECB’s Weidmann: German economic dynamism to return in 2012
- ECB’s Noyer: French growth should pick up after Q4 stagnation
- EU, ECB, IMF ‘shaken’ by Greek administration – Bild
- French January manufacturing industry morale falls to 91 from unrevised 94 in December, demonstrably weaker than median forecast of 95
- EU diplomats agree oil embargo
- EU’s Barnier: Financial tax won’t be forced on the UK. No plot to undermine City of London (yer right!!)
- America overcomes the debt crisis as Britain sinks deeper into the swamp – AEP at The Telegraph
EUR/USD finally made it to, and briefly through, the psychological 1.3000 level.
From early 1.2895 we’ve been as high as 1.3013, presently at 1.2990. A slight early dip ran into Asian central bank buying at 1.2885/90 (you’ll have read it first here on ForexLive) and that was the floor in place for the day.
Middle Eastern buyers then entered the fray and we ticked over 1.2900. A plethora of positive statements from various muckety mucks (see headlines above) helped stretch the rally and eventually buy stops clustered in the 1.2950/55 area accelerated us up to test well-documented sell orders clustered 1.2990/00.
Unsurprisingly the rally stalled somewhat at said level, but the euro bulls weren’t in the mood to be denied their goal as had happened last Friday.
Cable up at 1.5565 from 1.5550, decent buying of the EUR/GBP cross hampering cable’s progress somewhat. The cross is up at .8345 from an early .8290. The market will be aware of Q4 UK GDP coming out Wednesday, which isn’t supposed to make pleasant reading.
USD/JPY fairly steady, very marginally lower at 76.90 from early 77.05. Decent sell orders noted around 77.10 this morning.
AUD/USD up at 1.0540 from early 1.0485. Protection of well-documented 1.0500 barrier interest capped the topside for awhile, that’s until strong Middle Eastern buying helped take out the barrier and trip stops above.