Reuters: US Dollar Report: FOREX-Australian dollar gains after expected rate cut, euro firmer

Reuters: US Dollar Report Reuters.com is your source for breaking news, business, financial and investing news, including personal finance and stocks. Reuters is the leading global provider of news, financial information and technology solutions to the world's media, financial institutions, businesses and individuals. // via fulltextrssfeed.com

FOREX-Australian dollar gains after expected rate cut, euro firmer Aug 6th 2013, 10:58 Tue Aug 6, 2013 6:58am EDT * Aussie on track for best daily performance in two weeks * RBA offers no clear sign it would ease again * Euro rises to session high after German data By Anirban Nag LONDON, Aug 6 (Reuters) - The Australian dollar rose on Tuesday after the Reserve Bank of Australia cut interest rates as expected and gave no clear steer that it would ease policy further, disappointing some who had positioned for it. The euro climbed against the dollar to just shy of the $1.33 level after German industrial orders surged by 3.8 percent on the month in June, their biggest rise since October and beating forecasts. Nevertheless, the Australian dollar was a bigger mover after the RBA lowered its cash rate by a quarter point to a record low of 2.5 percent, a cut which was fully factored in. Some had geared up for a 50 basis point cut and a form of forward guidance or pledge to keep rates low, analysts said. A squeeze in short positions saw the Australian dollar rise 0.7 percent to $0.9006, pulling away from a three-year low of $0.8848 struck on Monday. It has risen for two days and was on track for its best daily performance in two weeks. "The bounce in the Aussie is unlikely to last. The RBA has said it expects a further decline in the currency," said Neil Mellor, currency strategist at Bank of New York Mellon. "I think a move above 90 U.S. cents would be sold into." The Aussie is likely to be pressured in the medium term by slowing growth in China as well as a strengthening U.S. dollar, Valentin Marinov, G10 currency strategist at Citi told the Global Markets Forum, a Reuters online community. In the very near term though, he said, the Aussie could squeeze a bit higher. That was primarily because plenty of investors and speculators had built large bets against the currency and needed to book profits, analysts said. Meanwhile, the U.S. dollar fell 0.2 percent against the yen to 98.085 on selling by U.S. funds with stop-loss sell orders triggered on its drop below 98 yen. The U.S. currency has fallen for three straight sessions after below-forecast jobs data on Friday prompted some analysts to push back expectations of when the Federal Reserve would begin slowing its bond-buying stimulus. "Unless Bernanke gives a clear signal when the Fed is likely to move, we think the dollar index and euro/dollar will trade in a range," BNY's Mellor added. The dollar index was down 0.15 percent on the day at 81.741. An options trader at a large European bank said there was still demand for yen calls - bets the yen will rise and the dollar will fall - but the premium was gradually declining, suggesting a sharp rise in the yen is unlikely. Link this Share this Digg this Email Reprints

You are receiving this email because you subscribed to this feed at blogtrottr.com. If you no longer wish to receive these emails, you can unsubscribe from this feed, or manage all your subscriptions