Wednesday, 2 Mar 2011

EUR/USD Close to 4-Month High

The EUR/USD approached the 1.3900 level today, as investors eagerly await tomorrow's ECB Press Conference for any word on wether interest rates will go up in the euro-zone before the US. Demand for the euro has gone up on all accounts. Should the ECB strike a hawkish note regarding interest rates tomorrow, analysts are prediciting the EUR/USD could break the psychologically significant 1.3400 level.

In other news, continued violence in Libya has caused the safe-haven Swiss franc to reach a new record high against the dollar. Currently the USD/CHF is trading just below the 0.9240 level.

In addition to the ECB Press Conference, traders will also want to pay close attention to the latest US Unemployment Claims figure. Tomorrow's figure may lead to more volatility than usual, as it is just one day ahead of the all important Non-Farm Payrolls figure. A low unemployment number tomorrow may help the greenback recoup some of today's losses.