Asian Session, March 18th 2010

By IBTimes Staff Reporter | March 18 2010 7:31 AM

The theme of the week in Asia remained the same today, with the currency markets trading sluggishly in favor of the dollar and yen. After the New York explosion of risk which sent the EUR/USD to a 1.3817 one month high, the Asian trade day saw those highs continue to evaporate. As traders covered dollar and yen shorts on what was perceived as overzealous buying of risk during NY, EUR/USD slid from 1.3740 to lows near 1.3710, while GBP/USD dropped from 1.5322 to a 1.5286 lows. Markets were so quiet at one point that AUD/USD was in a 4 pip range for almost two hours. The pair eventually widened out the range to a 0.9240 high and a 0.9208 low.

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The USD/JPY pair lost value from 90.45 to 90.15 as the pair looked poised to return to yesterday’s levels near 90.00 after the quick visit to 90.70. Many Japanese exporters have begun to repatriate funds and clean up their balance sheets as the year end loomed at the end of March.

Yen crosses also drifted lower after their wild ride higher earlier in the day.

Later in New York, look for core CPI, Unemployment claims and the Philly Fed manufacturing index to be released to potential fanfare in the currency markets.