On Friday, the focus of Asian markets was stop-loss hunting on EUR-USD and USD-JPY, while on Monday, the market targeted the stops on AUD-USD and NZD-USD, driving both currencies higher. This was the only action of note with EUR-USD and USD-JPY still range-bound due to the continued holidays with Australia, New Zealand and Hong Kong closed and much of Europe closed in the session ahead. Increased risk appetite for AUD and NZD were also fueled by the data from China on the weekend showing a rise in bank lending and the reports of increased commodity demand from China. Asian stocks were mostly higher on the news as well, with Japan's recently announced stimulus package also seen positive for the region. NYMEX crude dropped after the IEA report on Friday forecast a further fall in global oil demand, though gold was up $4 and copper rose 7% on the news from China. U.S. Treasury yields were little changed from Thursday's close and DJIA futures were down 36 pts. EUR-USD traded a range of 1.3128-87 while USD-JPY traded a range of 100.24-50.
DailyFX provides forex news and technical analysis on the trends that influence the global currency markets.
Learn forex trading with a free practice account and trading charts from FXCM.
