Forex News

The yen declined today versus virtually all of the 16 main traded currencies as investors opted for higher-yielding currencies betting on the global economic recovery for 2010, abandoning yen priced assets after Japan’s Finance Minister Hirohisa Fujii resigned today.

The Australian dollar may start the year gaining against refuge currencies like the yen, and currently not so attractive currencies like the pound and the euro as a global recovery expected for 2010 may trigger stronger demand for commodity exports from Australia, favoring the national currency in foreign-exchange markets.

The yen declined versus most of the 16 main traded currencies today on a risk fueled session that favored higher-yielding currencies and the U.S. dollar, as favorable reports in the country continued to boost appetite for the greenback.

The Australian dollar has been one of the best performers in currency markets during the past few months as it was the first country to raise interest rates among the wealthy nations, today the sentiment towards the Aussie changed after surprising statements from the country’s financial authorities.

After trading near $0.90 in the end of the last week as the U.S. dollar rose against its Australian counterpart, the Aussie, pushed by renewed risk appetite, managed to climb significantly not only versus the greenback but also lower-yielding currencies.

The Japanese yen continued its decline against the dollar and the euro for the second day today as the unpleasant economic conditions in Japan make their currency less attractive to the buyers.

After declining considerably yesterday versus the greenback, the Aussie dollar recovered today and is heading towards another weekly gain versus its U.S. counterpart as a report is likely to post favorable employment figures in the world’s largest energy consumer, raising demand for commodity linked currencies.

The Australian dollar had a sharp rally today versus most of the 16 main traded currencies after a government official made positive comments regarding the future outlook of the Australian economy, creating speculations that interest rates will be hiked further in the South Pacific nation.

The Australian dollar had one of the weakest performs in the past months this week as stocks declined worldwide, declining attractiveness for riskier assets as the opportunities available in the Australian high-yielding financial markets, forcing also the New Zealand currency down.

After falling from the highest level in more than 14 months towards the end of last week’s session in a day of bearish performance in stock markets, the Australian dollar started this week climbing once again on speculations regarding increased interest rates in the country.