Daily Foreign exchange Summary - 02 July 2010

This news drove the dollar to show its biggest one-day loss against the euro since mid-March of 2009. This follows yesterday's worst showing in the past 7-months against the yen.Concern in the market is growing following weak housing and manufacturing data on Thursday and weak consumer confidence data earlier in the week. Fear that the U.S. recovery is losing steam is weighing on the USD.

The euro made significant headway against the USD today, climbing more than 4% from Monday's lows. The euro gains can be largely attributed to investors looking past economic problems in the euro zone and instead focusing on the possibility of a stalled economic recovery in the U.S.   The euro was already bolstered by easing concerns about euro zone liquidity problems after a lower take-up of European Central Bank funding and successful bond auctions on Thursday.

The sterling hit a 3-week high against a broadly weak dollar after dismal U.S. employment data suggested that the economic recovery is stalling.

The Canadian dollar continued to slide lower against the USD, weighed down by falling commodity prices combined with the weight of the economic woes of the USD on their economy. Though it is likely that the loonie will show continued weakness, there is strong resistance at 1.0745.

The Japanese yen hit its highest level this year against the USD, below 87 yen, as market players continued to seek the yen as a safe haven currency. Japanese officials are peppering the market with comments in support of a weaker yen, as current levels could cause pain to Japanese exporters if sustained.

The Australian and New Zealand dollars remain near multi-week lows despite news that the Australian government agreed to a watered-down version of a proposed mining tax, easing concerns the tax would hurt business investment.Doubts over global growth and heavy falls in equities dragged on risk-sensitive currencies. The Aussie was down 3.4% for the week, while the Kiwi shed 3.6%.

Following yesterday's fall below the key psychological level of 13, the Mexican peso  sank to its weakest levels in more than a month today following the release of negative US data.

Indicative rates:EUR/USD

1.2613

USD/JPY

87.34

GBP/USD

1.5229

USD/CAD

1.0558

USD/MXN

12.9911

USD/CHF

1.0588

AUD/USD

0.8510

NZD/USD

0.6970

 10-Year Treasury Note Yield:  2.966%Dow Jones Industrial Average:  9,699.42 -33.11%

This market summary is prepared by Union Bank's Global FX Department for the general information of its customers. It is based on the most accurate information currently available, but should not be considered investment advice or a guarantee of future exchange rates or trends.