Friday, 17 Jul 2009

Crude Oil Prices Continue to Rise

The main trends that dominated the forex market over the past week were the bullish EUR and the rising Crude Oil prices. It was only a few days ago when a barrel of crude oil was traded for less than $60. Currently, a barrel of oil is valued in over $64. The rise in crude oil prices came as a result of the strengthening sentiment that the global economic condition is improving. Investors feel that this sentiment should be translated to a greater demand for fuel, which should affect oil's value.

The dollar saw a volatile session this week, following mixed results from the leading economic indicators, published from the U.S economy. Whereas the Producer Price Index showed that the inflation rate in the U.S might finally enter a positive phase, the Long-Term Purchases report showed that the international demand for U.S assets dropped in May. The contradicting results were one of the main reasons that the USD didn't see a clear direction over the past few days.

As for the week ahead, many interesting economic information will be released from the leading economies. Traders are advised to pay special attention to Fed Chairman Bernanke's testimony scheduled on Wednesday and to the German reports which are due to be released on Friday.