IFX Market Report

Sterling extended gains on Monday, with the euro falling to a four-month low against the UK currency, dented by concerns about Greece's fiscal health while strong UK housing data buoyed the pound. A survey by UK property website Rightmove pointed to a solid recovery in the housing market, showing property asking prices in England and Wales up 0.4 percent month-on-month in January, taking the annual rise to 4.1 percent.

CURRENCY TRADING SUMMARY -18th January

U.S. Dollar Trading (USD) weaker than expected JP Morgan Results offset some upbeat Intel numbers to lead US stocks lower and help the Dollar gain into the weekend. Also adding to the renewed risk aversion was weaker than expected University of Michigan Consumer sentiment at 72.8 vs. 73.9 forecast. DJIA -100 points closing at 10609, S&P -12 points closing at 1136 and NASDAQ -28 points closing at 2287. Today is a Bank Holiday in the US.

The Euro (EUR) came under pressure breaking below 1.4450 support in Asia as rumors of Germany's Merkal losing political support spread throughout the market. A denial as the start of Europe did little to help with technical damage done and risk aversion beginning to tick higher. Overall the EUR/USD traded with a low of 1.4338 and a high of 1.4511 before closing at 1.4375.

The Australian Dollar (AUD) was hurt by the change in investor appetite as the market was caught long after the good jobs data on Thursday. Falling commodities and a resurgent USD pushed the pair back to lower 0.92 support. AUD/JPY fell heavily as long liquidation accelerated from recent highs. Overall the AUD/USD traded with a low of 0.9214 and a high of 0.9319 before closing the US session at 0.9229.

This morning at 9.15am the pound was at $1.6339, €1.1370, 12.10 ZAR, 148.68 JPY, 11.5076 SEK and AU$1.7690. The euro lost ground to the US dollar at $1.4369.