ForexLive New York forex wrap-up; Freaky Friday for dollar

ForexLive New York forex wrap-up; Freaky Friday for dollar
* US Q2 GDP falls 1.0% slightly better than expected, consumer spending weak; Q1 revised much weaker, down -6.4% * NY City NAPM rises to 48.3 from 44.8 * Chicago PMI rises to 43.4 in July from 39.9, slightly better than expected * IMF: Dollar moderately overvalued * JP Morgan raises Q3 GDP forecast to 3% * Cash for clunkers success has economists forecasting a jump in US auto production in second half with positive GDP impact * Obama: Guardedly optimistic economy has turned quarter * ECB Sources: ECB preparing further non-standard measures in case rebound does not take hold- Market News International * US equities ended essentially unchanged, rise... Full Story

EMERGING MARKETS-Stocks at 10 month high, Latam forex up vs USD

EMERGING MARKETS-Stocks at 10 month high, Latam forex up vs USD
* Emerging market stocks rise, touch fresh 10-month high * LatAm currencies gain on U.S. dollar after GDP data * Credit spreads widen as U.S. Treasury market rallies * Credit Suisse cuts Russian stocks to underweight By Daniel Bases NEW YORK, July 31 (Reuters) - Emerging market stocks rose
in quiet end-of-month trade on Friday as investors took to
heart a report showing U.S. economic activity contracted less
than expected in the second quarter. Latin American currencies rose against the U.S. dollar onposition squaring and a touch of increased risk appetite after
the better-than-expected U.S. second-quarter gross domestic
product data. "The GDP data still plays into a positive risk tone. I
don't think the market reacted negatively to that," said Flavia
Cattan-Naslausky, emerging markets currency strategist at RBS
Securities in Greenwich, Connecticut. "Currencies are slightly bid, but mostly I think this has
to do with squaring up into month-end. The market is, well,
very dead," she said. A healthier U.S. economy helps drive demand for goods and
services from lower-cost emerging markets. In the currency market, Brazil's real BRBY edged up 0.21
percent to 1.8710 per U.S. dollar. Mexico's peso MXNMEX01
rose 0.11 percent to 13.2250 per U.S. dollar. Higher commodity prices also favored emerging markets where
much of the raw materials are mined, drilled and shipped.
Copper touched a 10-month high and crude oil prices gained
$1.27 a barrel to $68.21 CLc1 with the help of the weaker
U.S. dollar. The North American trading session kicked off with a report
showing the U.S. economy contracted at a 1.0 percent rate in
the second quarter. Analysts polled by Reuters had forecast GDP
falling at a 1.5 percent rate. However, the data also showed a drop in consumer spending
of 1.2 percent, after a rise of 0.6 percent in the first
quarter. The drop in spending is a concern for Mexico, which
sells 80 percent of its exports to the United States. The consumer data did help lead to a run-up in U.S.
Treasuries, causing the spread over emerging market sovereign
bonds to widen even though those credits were little changed on
the day. The benchmark JP Morgan Emerging Markets Bond Index Plus
11EMJ.JPMEMBIPLUS showed yield spreads wider by 11 basis
points, to 397 basis points. Investors appear to be holding firm to the recent rally in
asset prices, even as its intensity tapers. MSCI's emerging markets stock index gained 1.6 percent
.MSCIEF while the Latin American stock index rose 1.4 percent
.MILA00000PUS. Funds-tracker EPFR Global said investors poured $9.5
billion into equity funds around the world this week, the
highest weekly inflow since June 2008. [ID:nHKG97502] Russia's benchmark RTS stock index is up 21 percent
in the last 18 days from its recent low, while up 61 percent
for the year to date. Credit Suisse downgraded Russia to a 5 percent underweight
stance from a 5 percent overweight in its model portfolio on
Friday, according to a report it sent clients.

FOREX: Ringgit Likely To Be Firmer Against US Dollar Next Week

FOREX: Ringgit Likely To Be Firmer Against US Dollar Next Week
KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 1 (Bernama) -- The ringgit is likely to be firmer against the US dollar next week riding on expectation that the local bourse will continue to stage positive performance, dealers said.They said the ringgit was likely to move between 3.51 and 3.54.A dealer said the ringgit's gain would be driven by strong demand from investors who were expected to put their funds back into the currency market.On week-to-week basis, the ringgit strengthened against the greenback to 3.5210/5240 from 3.5300/5340 last week.Against the Singapore dollar, it was firmer at 2.4411/4455 from 2.4565/4633 last week and against the yen it strengthened to 3.6811/6862 from 3.8092/8150 previously.The ringgit was little changed against the British pound to 5.8227/8298 from 5.8223/8312 previously and rose against the euro to 4.9611/9664 from 5.0323/0400 previously.-- BERNAMA

WORLD FOREX: Dollar Ends Broadly Lower In Choppy Trading

By Don Curren Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
TORONTO (Dow Jones)--The dollar ended markedly lower across a range of currencies Friday as stock market strength, risk appetite and month-end flows combined to propel investors to its rivals.
The dollar was able to rally briefly in morning trading after the first estimate of domestic product data for the second quarter was released, but surrendered its gains as stocks rallied.
"We saw the dollar doing a little bit better after the GDP report, which was mainly due to the fact that equities got weaker, and the dollar sold off as equities went stronger again," Vassili Serebriakov, currency strategist at Wells Fargo Bank in New York.
That latter move set the tone for the rest of the day, with the dollar remaining in retreat in sometimes volatile trading.
After remaining in positive territory for most the session, stocks shifted to a mixed profile in late trading with narrow losses in some indexes and modest gains in others.
Technical factors also supported the dollar's rivals on Friday, analysts said.
"I think there's a whole host of things that have come together to push the U.S. dollar lower," said Camilla Sutton, senior currency strategist at Scotia Capital in Toronto.
"The same story remains intact, which is that we continue to see fairly violent moves, with an overall bias towards U.S. dollar weakness," she said.
The euro gained as high as $1.4280, reversing its midweek sell-off, while the pound gained as high as $1.6730. The dollar fell as low as Y94.50 before recovering modestly in quieter afternoon trading.
Late Friday afternoon, the euro was at $1.4255 from $1.4071, and at Y134.95 from Y134.35. The dollar was at Y94.66 from Y95.50 late Thursday, according to EBS. The dollar was at CHF1.0690 from CHF1.0875. The U.K. pound was at $1.6697 from $1.6493.
The first estimate of second quarter U.S. GDP data presented something of a conundrum for markets. Overall GDP declined at a seasonally adjusted 1.0% annual rate, better than the 1.5% expected by economists, but consumer spending, which traditionally accounts for some 70% of U.S. growth, slid by 1.2% in the quarter after rising 0.6% in the first.
The worrisome signs in the U.S. second-quarter gross domestic product reported earlier Friday underscored calls for a different safe haven than the dollar, boosting the yen and Swiss franc, some analysts said.
But Wells Fargo's Serebriakov said the data suggest an improving outlook growth that should ultimately prove supportive for the U.S. dollar.
The move into riskier assets was boosted by a closely watched measure of economic activity in the Chicago area, which rose to its highest reading since September 2008, bolstering expectations the recession will end this year.
Month-end flows were also considered supportive for non-U.S. currencies Friday.
"Stocks gained in the month of July, and so portfolio managers tend to need to hedge, and sell more dollars based on the gains we've experienced," said Brian Dolan, chief currency strategist at Forex.com.
Those stock gains are in dollars. As a result, money managers have larger positions in dollars and have to get rid of them at the end of the month.
Traders may have been encouraged to sell the dollar after the release recently of an International Monetary Fund report that said the U.S. dollar is "moderately overvalued."
This came after an IMF report on the euro zone Thursday that said the euro was somewhat overvalued, which had caused the common currency to dip versus the dollar.

China's forex reserves top 2.13 trillion dollars in June

China's forex reserves top 2.13 trillion dollars in Junenewkerala.com - Jul 15, 2009 11:34:33up 17.84 percent year-on-year, the People's Bank of China said Wednesday. About $185.6 billion were Beijing, July 15 : China's foreign exchange reserves topped 2.13 trillion dollars by the end of June,

Man acquitted of forex irregularities after 16 years

Man acquitted of forex irregularities after 16 yearsSify - Jul 19, 2009 15:27:16the Delhi High Court.Justice Anil Kumar allowed Prabhat Kumar Srivastava's petition, which challenged A man booked 16 years ago for illegally possessing foreign currencies has finally been acquitted by

TCS to halve forex hedging tenure

TCS to halve forex hedging tenureSify - Jul 22, 2009 07:12:20Mumbai: Tata Consulting Services will halve the tenure of its hedging contracts in future due to the continuing unpredictability in the rupee market. Most ReadGovt puts on hold BSNL-MTNL mergerOverseas

Forex reserves rise by $2.27 billion

Forex reserves rise by $2.27 billionBusiness Line - Jul 24, 2009 23:39:37Mumbai, July 24 Foreign exchange reserves increased by $2.27 billion to $266.187 billion for the week ended July 17, according to figures released in the Reserve Bank of Indias weekly statistical supplement.

Margins, forex gains benefit IOC

Margins, forex gains benefit I O C
Margins, forex gains benefit IOC Countries such as India are dependent on imports to meet their oil needs and are particularly vulnerable to price volatility New Delhi: Indias largest oil marketing company,

Forex reserves up by USD 1,524 mn

Forex reserves increased by USD 1,524 million to touch USD 267,711 million as on July 24, 2009, mainly due to rise in foreign currency and assets collections on a weekly basis.As per the weekly statistical supplement of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) released on July 31, 2009, foreign currency assets increased by USD 1,519 million to stand at USD 256,657 million.During the same period, the reserve position in the International Monetary Fund (IMF) increased marginally by USD 5 million to stand at USD 1,253 million. The gold reserves remained steady at USD 9,800 million.Foreign currency assets expressed in USD include the effect of appreciation or depreciation on non-US currencies (such as Euro, Sterling and Yen) held in reserves