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DOLLAR: With the US Dollar Index managing a fresh new low for the move overnight, it is clear that the flight to quality concerns in the marketplace are currently minimal. However, we suspect that the Dollar might be poised to see a bit of a lift in the wake of the US Housing Permits release, as that reading is expected to be soft and that reading is sometimes considered a leading indicator for the US housing sector. We are not sure if the US Dollar is poised to react to the shifting political scene in the US and we are also not sure if the Dollar is going to be impacted by talk that China might be taking measures to lower their US debt holdings. However, seeing even a slight tempering of Chinese interest for US Treasuries, in the face of historic supply flow of US debt, can’t be a good thing for the US Dollar in the long run! At least in the near term, we see the prospect of further minor weakness in the Dollar, off a slight improvement in macro economic sentiment, but we really doubt that the overall pattern of strength seen in the US Dollar since the late November low is set to come to an end, especially since the Greece situation is apparently far from being resolved.
EURO: While the Euro technically showed a quasi upside breakout off a steep down trend channel resistance line overnight, the currency quickly failed at that level. With some news stories surfacing on various financial moves inside Spain overnight, we suspect that the fear of additional debt crisis developments in the Euro zone will continue to undermine overall Euro sentiment. We continue to think that rallies back to 137.50 should be considered a selling opportunity in the March Euro, especially if the press manages to dredge up any additional problems with EU membership maneuvers. It is even possible that slack US economic numbers will also manage to weigh on the Euro, as the Euro, Swiss and Pound can hardly afford to see any slower than expected recovery news from the US economy.
YEN: The March Yen continues to derive some measure of support from the 50 day moving average, but it would still seem like the technical bias in the Yen is favoring the downside. We also have to wonder if Toyota troubles are indirectly weighing on the Yen, as the Press seems to be pushing for the Toyota CEO to testify to the US Congress. On the other hand, with a shift in Chinese ownership of US debt, the Japanese have apparently become the largest holder of US government debt and therefore Congress had better tread lightly in their attempt to harangue a foreign corporation. In the near term, we don’t see a definitive downward thrust in the Yen, but we would expect to see a sub 110 Yen trade over the coming trading sessions.
SWISS: With a pattern of lower highs on the charts and ongoing negative internal macro economic sentiment, the bear camp looks to retain an edge in the Swiss. In fact, some press outlets suggested that the SNB was possibly acting to restrain the Swiss from further gains and that would in turn seem to suggest that the 94.00 level in the March Swiss has become some form of fundamental and technical resistance zone. While we don’t see the prospect of an aggressive thrust down in the Swiss, a series of downside moves still looks to be in the cards.
POUND: As we suggested earlier this week, the Pound has managed to benefit from the recent improvement in sentiment. However, without stepwise further improvement in views toward the US economy, we doubt that the Pound will be able to garner that much upward momentum. In fact, with some forces calling for Greece to respond to currency swap charges by the end of the week it is still possible that the Euro zone debt issue will serve to trip up recovery currencies like the Pound. We can’t argue against more minor gains in the Pound this morning but we are just not inclined to call for a sustained upward action in the Pound.
CANADIAN DOLLAR: While the Canadian hasn’t managed to forge a fresh new high for the move today, the bull camp might retain a slight edge. However, a slack UK employment reading, residual Greece currency swap fears and fears that China might be scaling back US debt purchases, are all forces that serve to temper buying interest in the Canadian Dollar. With a more mixed tone in physical commodity markets this morning and only a minor higher opening indication in US equities, that leaves seems to leave the Canadian with a very thin bullish edge. It would also seem like the Canadian is in need of a slight technical balancing after a rather stellar two week rally.
TODAY’S MARKET IDEAS: The Dollar generally remains the leadership currency as Euro zone issues are not being restricted to the back burner.



