- Portuguese downgrade, little progress toward Greek resolution undermine EUR
- US durable goods orders rise 0.5% in Feb; Jan revised higher
- US new home sales fall 2.2% in February to record low
- Greece will probably need financial support : Bank of Spain’s Ordonez
- Darling unveils UK budget
- Moody’s affirms UK AAA rating after budget
- SNB Jordan: Will counteract excessive CHF strength
- BdF’s Noyer disputes logic of IMF aid for Greece
- US bond yields soar: hawkish Yellen, healtcare costs, so-so bond auction cited
- 2-yr note yield rises 13 bp to 1.10%. 10-yr yield up 16 bp to 3.85%
- S&P dips 0.6%; gold falls $20 to $1085, oil falls 2% to $80.30
The dollar soared across the board on Tuesday, boosted by spreading jitters about the sovereign debt of the Club Med countries as well as rapidly rising US rates. The dollar index closed at its highest levels in 10 months today with demand for dollars so strong today that crosses like EUR/JPY and EUR/CHF were dragged higher despite growing European disarray. Protection of 1.3300 barriers is slowing the EUR/USD slide.
EUR/USD trades at 1.13315 as we write, the lows for the day. It broke a panoply of technical supports in the last 24-hours and looks poised for a move down toward the 1.3087 level, the 76.4% retracement of the 1.2450/1.5150 rally.
Cable got new boost from the UK budget today, slipping through 13.4870 support late in the day, trading down to 1.4865 on stop-loss sales.
USD/JPY was in huge demand during the US trading day. One macro hedge fund bought $3 bln dollars early in the day, taking the dollar through 91.55, the 200-day moving average, with ease. We close near our highs after overcome 92.16 resistance and trading up to 92.40 late.
AUD/USD fell on profit-taking from US hedge funds, ending the session at the lows of the day of 0.9072. The 100-day moving average lies just below the market at 0.9065 and price close below the up[trend which has been supporting prices since early February.
EUR/CHF was dragged up by demand for USD/CHF today and was given a boost from the 1.4285 level to 1.4307 on tough talk (but no action, yet) from the SNB. It ends at 1.4295.