The Australian Dollar Clings to Breakout As Current Catalysts Support Upward Trend

(This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on August 2, 2012. Click here to read the entire piece.) On July 30th, the Australian dollar made a clean breakout against the U.S. dollar (FXA). At that time, I stated I was finally ready to reposition for what could be an … Read more

By Closing Above Its “QE2 Reference Price”, Dollar Increases Pressure On Fed

(This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on July 26, 2012. Click here to read the entire piece.) I did not think it would happen, but the dollar index finally closed above its “QE2 reference price.” {snip} I have contended that if the dollar index reached current levels, the … Read more

Watching for Intervention As U.S. Dollar Falls Toward Five-Month Lows Versus Yen

(This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on July 23, 2012. Click here to read the entire piece.) Japanese Finance Minister Jun Azumi has formed a habit of warning currency markets about the strength in the Japanese yen (FXY). For example, on May 31st, with USD/JPY slightly above 78 … Read more

The Japanese Yen Is Reasserting Itself

The U.S. dollar’s jagged rally from last year’s lows has finally brought it back to its “QE2 reference price.” At the same time, a carry trade seems to be lifting the Australian dollar in “risk-on” fashion. In the background, the Japanese yen is slowly but surely reasserting itself as the strongest of the major currencies … Read more

How Divergences Between the Australian Dollar and the S&P 500 Can Signal Trades

(This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on July 8, 2012. Click here to read the entire piece.) I have written several articles now discussing the dynamics of the Australian dollar as well as its correlation with the S&P 500 (SPY). At the end of May, I wrote “Correlations … Read more

The Dollar’s Tumble Accompanies A Host of Critical Currency and Commodity Trades

(This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on July 1, 2012. Click here to read the entire piece.) Thanks largely to the surging euro, the U.S. dollar index (UUP) took one of its nastiest one-day tumbles since last October, falling 1.3%. I believe this drop all but confirms staunch … Read more

Japanese Yen Confirms Returning Risk Aversion

I earlier argued that the Japanese yen held a critical piece of the puzzle to determining what’s next for risk attitudes (see “The Japanese Yen And Volatility Sit At The Cusp Of Renewed Risk Aversion”). On Monday, the yen seemed to confirm that risk aversion is indeed returning and likely to stay with us for … Read more

Japanese Yen and Volatility Sit At the Cusp Of Renewed Risk Aversion

(This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on June 22, 2012. Click here to read the entire piece.) Thursday was a good day for the dollar index (UUP) as it experienced one of its strongest one-day rallies of the year. {snip} While the dollar’s rally was indeed impressive, I … Read more

So Far So Good On Buying Dips In British Pound

(This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on June 19, 2012. Click here to read the entire piece.) In “British Pound Surges Into Resistance – Buy Dips As Government and Bank of England Try To Ease Credit Crunch” on June 15th I argued that it is time to buy … Read more

Dollar Index Stops Cold At Its “QE2 Reference Price”

(This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on June 1, 2012. Click here to read the entire piece.) {snip} …U.S. nonfarm payrolls greatly disappointed markets and quickly put the dollar into general disfavor the rest of the day. Even the oversold euro rallied against the U.S. dollar (FXE). Interestingly, … Read more