London Session Recap

Daily Forex Fundamentals | Written by Forex.com | Sep 23 08 12:33 GMT |

The buck traded mostly sideways in the London session as the market awaits testimony from Fed Chairman Bernanke and Treasury Secretary Paulson to provide more clarity on the current bailout plan. Economic data were mixed in the Euro-zone with manufacturing PMI slipping to 45.3 from 47.3 but the services counterpart ticking up to 48.2 from 48.0 the prior month. Meanwhile, industrial new orders for the region jumped a much better than expected 1.0%, but somewhat at the expense of a downwardly revised -0.5% print previously. Euro was unchanged at the close, after opening near the 1.4785 mark and dipping as low as 1.4680/85. Cable was higher as the BOE extended more than $30 billion in loans to financial institutions in another overnight dollar auction. GBP/USD jumped a little more than 45 pips in the session and was sitting near the 1.8600/05 zone at the close. USD/JPY consolidated sideways in London trading as well. The pair opened (and closed) near the 105.35 mark and ran as high as 105.92 in the span. Equity markets overseas were down on the heels of sharp declines in yesterday’s US session. Europe has shed about -1.4% while Asia feel roughly -2.0%. US equity futures are pointing to a modest decline for the NY open, but expect the market to be quite volatile on the back of the Bernanke/Paulson musings. Look for volatility in JPY crosses as well. Upcoming Economic Data Releases (NY Session) Prior Estimate 9/23/2008 13:30 GMT US Paulson, Bernanke Testify on Credit Turmoil at Senate Panel 9/23/2008 14:00 GMT US Richmond Fed Manufact. Index SEP -16 -12 9/23/2008 14:00 GMT US House Price Index MoM JUL 0.00% -0.20% 9/23/2008 21:00 GMT US ABC Consumer Confidence 21-Sep -41 -43 Forex.com http://www.forex.com DISCLAIMER: The information and opinions in this report are for general information use only and are not intended as an offer or solicitation with respect to the purchase of sale of any currency. All opinions and information contained in this report are subject to change without notice. This report has been prepared without regard to the specific investment objectives, financial situation and needs of any particular recipient. While the information contained herein was obtained from sources believed to be reliable, author does not guarantee its accuracy or completeness, nor does author assume any liability for any direct, indirect or consequential loss that may result from the reliance by any person upon any such information or opinions.