Over the past 6 months, being long US dollars has been one of the best trades in the currency market but as the dollar extends its gains, many traders wonder how much further it can rise. In the currency market, trends can last much longer than anyone would normally anticipate especially if it is driven by fear. As humans, we run from uncertainty and not towards it. Risk aversion has been pushing investors into the safety of the US dollar and out of higher yielding currencies. When Main Street reads in the papers tomorrow about the slowest pace of economic growth in 26 years, their shock could turn into more selling. Next week, we also have the US non-farm payrolls report due for release. A sour mood could hang over the markets for most of the week as traders fear that another 500k jobs were lost in the month of January. The only thing that could improve risk appetite and give investors a reason to cheer would be if the Senate passes President Obama’s economic stimulus package.

In yesterday’s Daily Currency Focus we warned that investors should not bank on an Obama bounce. Based upon 5 decades worth of data, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell more often than it rose on Inauguration Day. In fact stocks fell more on Barack Obama’s Inauguration Day than any other President. Since currencies are taking their cue from equities, we have seen a sharp slide in almost all of the major currency pairs. The dollar has outperformed the Euro and British pound but it has declined against the Japanese Yen indicating that the dollar’s rally is a reflection of pessimism and not optimism. We are seeing a flight to safety into US dollars but bonds are the instruments of choice and not equities. President Obama inherits a very troubled economy and he certainly has his work cut out for him over the next few years. However brighter times may lie ahead for US stocks based upon the performance of the Dow in the first 100 days on a President’s term.

US Leading indicators shocked to the upside, rising 0.3% against a forecast of -0.2% decline. This was the first positive print for the index in six months as a rebound in financial components outweighed the losses from increased jobless claims and stock market declines.

With most of Asian and Australia out on holiday, the liquidity starved conditions in the currency markets created some exaggerated movements in both euro and pound on the first trading day of the week, as both units fell hard at the start of Asia trade only to stabilize and recover on better risk appetite as the night progressed.

The assault on the pound continued for the second night in a row as the unit hit a 7 year low plunging through the physiologically critical 1.4000 level for the first time since 2001. FX traders feared that the massive new UK government spending schemes to rescue the ailing banking sector would result in further deterioration of country’ s balance sheet effectively devalued the currency by 3% overnight.

Tomorrow’s ECB rate announcement due 12:00GMT is shaping up to be one of the key events in the central bank’s ten year history. With Euro-zone economy facing one of the worst economic slowdowns in decades Mr. Trichet and the governing council are under enormous pressure to abandon his ”Bundesbanke-like” rhetoric and begin to ease aggressively.

The euro staged a strong rebound in early European trade this morning rising all the way above the 1.3600 handle, but news of greater than expected job losses in Germany halted the advance at that level for the time being. The rally in the pair started in Asia as bargain hunters reemerged near the 1.3500 figure attracted to the relative value in the pair after three straight days of selling. The push higher caught the shorts by surprise and EUR/USD quickly ran through the 1.3600 barrier after triggering a slew of stops.

Trading in equities very closely mirrored yesterday’s volatile session. It is clear that investors are still uncertain, as direction in the Dow has been largely range-bound. Equities have swerved between two extremes, at one time positive by more than a hundred points. Even though the excitement and enthusiasm behind the newly proposed relief program has managed to give equities a new leg, we are still undeniable seeing the levels of concern that have pervaded the markets for most of last year. This level of fear was a big factor that led to the original implosion of the equities market. Trading in the dollar has been likewise mixed, with strength against the euro and yen, but weakness against the pound and commodity currencies.

The euro hit a three week low against the dollar in active trade today as the unwind of the EURGBP long positions weighed on the currency throughout early European trade. In a session essentially empty of any key economic data trading was dominated by technical factors as cross selling and continued dollar strength took the EURUSD below 1.3500 figure.

The resonance of the New Year is starting to show its true colors at the start of the first full trading-week this year. The Dow finished a volatile day lower, in some ways ruining the sense of stability that pervaded in last week’s market. Volatility in equity prices was complemented by some extreme moves in the fx markets. Looking at today’s biggest percentage movers we can see the sheer magnitude of price action today, with some moves extending to more than 3.0%. The dollar in particular was heavily mixed across the board. We have seen some substantial gains against the euro and yen, in conjunction with weakness against the pound and commodity currencies. Today’s trading was a truly unorganized and unpredictable force.

The US dollar sold off modestly today on stronger European economic data and weaker US data. The dollar’s weakness was seen against every major currency except for the Canadian dollar which followed oil prices lower. Trading remains extremely quiet in the foreign exchange market and any moves that we have seen thus far are still nominal. The only currency pair that is really moving is the EUR/USD, but thin liquidity could be exacerbating the pair’s trading ranges.

It has been an exceptionally active year in the foreign exchange market as currency volatilities hit record highs. In the first half of the year, everyone was worried about how much further the dollar would fall but in the second half of the year the concern became how much further the dollar would rise. More specifically, after hitting a record low against the Euro in the second quarter, the US dollar surged to a 2 year high against the currency in the beginning of the fourth quarter. From trough to peak, the dollar index rose more than 23 percent in 2008.

Thin market conditions continue to dominate in the currency market on the eve before Christmas. Trading ranges for all of the major currency pairs have been relatively narrow, especially when compared to the large swings that have been characteristic of the third and fourth quarters of 2008. There were both upside and downside surprises in this morning’s economic data but even the upside surprises were numbers that reflected a contraction in US economic activity. This has fueled the mild sell-off in the greenback that began at the European open.

It is the first trading day of what is typically the least liquid period in the financial markets. As a result, there was no consistent trading pattern in the US dollar today. The greenback weakened against the Euro but gained strength against the British pound and Japanese Yen. We still believe that the US dollar has hit a top and could be at the cusp of a major reversal. The EUR/USD’s resilience to the US stock market sell-off indicates that we are finally seeing the weak outlook for the US economy reflected in the weakness of the US dollar. In 2009, the greenback may no longer be the market’s safe haven currency of choice as yields on Treasury bills sit at zero to negative levels.

It has been an extremely volatile week in the currency market. On Monday, the EUR/USD was trading at 1.3364 and shortly after the European open on Thursday it hit a high above 1.47. However since then it has reversed violently to end the week back at 1.39. This type of price action is characteristic of an illiquid market that is uncertain about how to react to the drastic measures taken by central banks around the world. There was no US economic data released today, but there are reports that the White House has given $17B in loans to the Big 3 automakers. The US dollar strengthened against all of the major currencies except for the Japanese Yen. Next week is a lightened trading week with the Christmas holiday. US economic data is therefore jammed into Tuesday and Wednesday. We expect the final figures for third quarter GDP, housing market numbers, personal income, personal spending and durable goods next week. The data should continue to reflect the weakness of the US economy.

As we approach the holidays the currency market has taken on all the characteristics of Florida weather – just wait a minute and it changes. After completing a spectacular parabolic rise yesterday, the unit reversed course and produced an almost as impressive a fall in today’s early European trade. The pair went into a nose dive dropping more than 200 points in 20 minutes as it hit a low of 1.4040 before bouncing above 1.4100.

After seeing the US dollar sell off for 5 straight days against the Euro and Japanese Yen, we were not entirely surprised to see today’s recovery, especially on the heels of better than expected economic data. The market has become accustomed to disappointments so good news was a welcome change. The European Central Bank has also reduced the interest rate that it offers to banks that deposit with them in order to encourage lending. The 15 percent rally in the Euro has led many to people to believe that the ECB may reconsider their plan to hold interest rates steady in January and the deposit rate cut was seen as a step in that direction. Thin market conditions near the holidays have exacerbated the volatility in the currency market. However even though the greenback is higher today, we had both positive and negative news impacting the dollar.

Tuesday’s FOMC meeting will be remembered for decades to come as the Federal Reserve brings interest rates down to the lowest level this generation has ever seen. With 2 realistic options on the table and economist and traders divided on how much the Fed will cut interest rates, the only certain outcome is significant volatility for the currency market. The US dollar is selling off aggressively going into the rate decision as traders realize that after tomorrow, the dollar will either be the lowest or second lowest yielding G10 currency. No matter how you look at it, an interest rate of 0.50 percent is just as bad as an interest rate of 0.25 percent.

In a liquidity starved session, the EUR/USD skyrocketed past the 1.4700 barrier in early European trade as momentum players ignored the worst IFO reading since 1982 and sent the unit flying after it tripped stops at the 1.4500 barrier. The breath taking ascent took place against the background of deteriorating economic conditions as the mantra of the currency market continues to be - yield, yield, yield.

The anti-dollar rally continued in Asian and early European trade today in the aftermath of yesterdays surprising -75bp cut by the Federal Reserve, but the pace of gains was decidedly more muted as currency traders booked profits in the wake of lackluster equity market performance and downcast economic data from UK.

Tuesday’s FOMC meeting will be remembered for decades to come as the Federal Reserve brings interest rates down to the lowest level this generation has ever seen. With 2 realistic options on the table and economist and traders divided on how much the Fed will cut interest rates, the only certain outcome is significant volatility for the currency market. No matter how you look at it, an interest rate of 0.50 percent is just as unattractive as an interest rate of 0.25 percent.