Many forex traders in the market would be blind to have not noticed the sharp volatile movements occurring in the world’s primary currency pair: the EUR/USD. This tug-o-war between the two largest world currencies comes about as each side takes aggressive steps to combat the recent recession. As the U.S. continues to publish positive economic data, and the Euro-Zone considers taking steps similar to those taken in the States, this pair’s sharp volatility will no doubt continue through to next week.
The Dollar finished Thursday’s trading session lower against a number of its currency pairs after U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said he was open to expanding the use of the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) special drawing rights. As of yesterday’s close, the USD fell against the EUR, pushing the currency pair to 135.69. The greenback experienced similar behavior against the CHF as the pair fell from 1.1299 to 1.1227 by day’s end.
A disappointing Treasury note auction reversed an early rally in U.S. stocks, but investors ultimately shrugged off that disappointment and focused on the strong economic data. The government reported that New Home Sales in the U.S. unexpectedly rose in February from a record low, as plummeting prices and cheaper mortgage rates lured some buyers, while U.S. orders for long-lasting manufactured goods also unexpectedly rebounded in the same month.
However, demand for New Homes has been limited by the highest jobless rate in a quarter-century and shrinking household wealth, indicating housing may not rebound quickly even as steps to cut borrowing costs and reduce mortgage defaults take hold. Therefore, investors in the coming weeks may unwind their Dollar positions, as they realize that the U.S. economy has a long road ahead for economic recovery.
Investors may look for the unusual price volatility to continue in the EUR/USD as the pair attempts to stabilize and find new support and resistance lines. Large price jumps such as these are not common place and present terrific opportunities to take advantage of the price swings for large profitable gains. In the short-term, the Dollar may continue to fall against the EUR, as traders look to take-up riskier assets.
