Month: May 2012

Video courtesy of ForexCT – A leading Australian forex broker, liscensed by the Australian Securities & Investments Commission, offers the MetaTrader4 and PROfit Platform to retail traders. Other services include Segregated Accounts, Trading workshops, Tutorials, and Commodities trading.

Source: ForexYard

Following multiple failures by Greek politicians to form a new government, investors are now concerned about what impact a possible new election will have on Greece’s status in the euro-zone. The news weighed down on riskier currencies, particularly the euro, throughout Friday’s trading session. The EUR/USD dropped to a fresh 3 ½ month low at 1.2903 before staging a slight correction to close out the week at 1.2917. Turning to this week, euro-zone news is once again forecasted to dictate the direction the market takes. Any additional negative announcements out of Greece could drive the euro even lower against its main currency rivals.

Economic News

USD – US Consumer Sentiment Gives Dollar a Boost vs. JPY

News that consumer sentiment in the US reached a more than four-year high gave the dollar a slight boost against several of its main rivals on Friday, including the Japanese yen. The USD/JPY was up close to 30 pips for the day, but was unable to break the psychologically significant 80.00 resistance level. Additionally, risk aversion in the marketplace helped the safe-haven dollar make substantial gains against the British pound throughout Friday’s session. The GBP/USD fell over 75 pips over the course of the day to close out the week at 1.6067.

Turning to this week, a batch of potentially significant data out of the US is forecasted to generate volatility in the marketplace. Traders will want to pay attention to Tuesday’s Retail Sales and Core Retail Sales reports. With both forecasted to come in below last month’s figures, the dollar may take losses against the yen as a result. Additionally, Wednesday’s FOMC Meeting Minutes could provide investors with clues as to any steps the Fed is considering taking to generate momentum in the US economic recovery. Any indication that a new round of quantitative easing is on its way could lead to heavy dollar losses against its safe-haven rivals.

EUR – Euro Continues to Fall amid Greece Worries

The prospect of fresh elections in Greece combined with news that a leading US bank suffered a $2 billion loss due to a poor trading strategy, caused investors to shun riskier assets to close out last week’s trading session. The euro took heavy losses as a result of the news, falling to a 3 ½ month low against the US dollar during early morning trading. That being said, the common currency was able to stage a recovery against the British pound, after dropping as low as 0.7995 during Asian trading. The EUR/GBP eventually closed out the week at 0.8037.

Turning to this week, traders will want to focus their attention on any announcements out of the euro-zone. With the prospect of Greece exiting the euro-zone turning more and more into a real possibility, the markets could see significant movement in the coming days. Traders will also want to note the results of several US economic indicators, scheduled to be released throughout the week. Should any of the news point to a further slowdown in the US economic recovery, investors may continue to shift their funds to safe-haven assets which could negatively impact the euro.

AUD – Aussie Resumes Bearishness Following Brief Gains

The Australian dollar saw brief gains during European trading on Friday before resuming its bearish trend against the safe-haven US dollar and Japanese yen. The AUD/USD was up over 50 pips in mid-day trading, reaching as high as 1.0076 before erasing its gains during the second half of the day. The pair eventually closed out the week at 1.0019. Against the yen, the AUD traded as high as 80.55 before staging a downward correction to finish Friday’s session at 80.08.

This week, AUD movement is likely to come as a result of news out of the euro-zone. In addition to the political uncertainty in Greece, analysts are also concerned about how the current crisis is going to affect already fragile economies in countries like Spain and Italy. Any signs that economic and political turmoil will spread to other countries in the region could result in heavy losses for riskier currencies like the aussie.

Crude Oil – Negative International News Leads to Drop for Crude Oil

The price of crude oil fell once again on Friday as the combination of negative news out of the US, euro-zone and China caused investors to abandon riskier assets. Following a brief spike during mid-day trading in which crude reached as high as $97.15 a barrel, the commodity resumed its bearish trend, eventually dropping to $95.60 to close out the week.

This week, crude traders will want to pay attention to a batch of US news, specifically Tuesday’s retail sales reports and Wednesday’s FOMC Meeting Minutes. Should any of the news point to a further slow-down in the US economic recovery, oil could continue falling as a result. In addition, any more political turmoil in the euro-zone may lead to risk aversion in the marketplace in which case commodities like oil could drop further.

Technical News

EUR/USD

The weekly chart’s Williams Percent Range has dropped into oversold territory, indicating that this pair could see upward movement in the coming days. This theory is supported by a bullish cross on the daily chart’s Slow Stochastic. Opening long positions may be a wise choice for this pair.

GBP/USD

The Bollinger Bands on the daily chart are narrowing, indicating that this pair could see a major shift in price in the near future. That being said, most other long term technical indicators are not providing clear signs as to what direction the shift will be. Taking a wait and see approach may be the best choice for this pair.

USD/JPY

A bullish cross on the weekly chart’s Slow Stochastic points to a possible upward correction in the coming days. This theory is supported by a bullish cross on the daily chart’s MACD/OsMA. This may be a good time for traders to open long positions.

USD/CHF

The Relative Strength Index on the daily chart is approaching the overbought zone, indicating that this pair could see downward movement in the near future. Additionally, the Williams Percent Range on the weekly chart has crossed above the -20 line. Traders may want to go short in their positions ahead of a possible bearish correction.

The Wild Card

USD/NOK

A bearish cross on the daily chart’s Slow Stochastic indicates that this pair could see downward movement in the near future. Furthermore, the Williams Percent Range on the same chart is in overbought territory. This may be a good time for forex traders to open short positions ahead of a possible downward breach.

Forex Market Analysis provided by ForexYard.

© 2006 by FxYard Ltd

Disclaimer: Trading Foreign Exchange carries a high level of risk and may not be suitable for all investors. There is a possibility that you could sustain a loss of all of your investment and therefore you should not invest money that you cannot afford to lose. You should be aware of all the risks associated with Foreign Exchange trading.

By Central Bank News
Here's today's Central Bank News link list, click through if you missed the previous central bank news link list.  Remember, if you want to submit links for inclusion in the daily link list, just email them through to us or post them in the comments section below.

Source: ForexYard

The euro fell to a four-month low against the USD in overnight trading following news that Greek politicians have once again failed to form a new government. Investors are concerned about the possibility of Greece exiting the euro-zone. Risk aversion in the marketplace also caused the AUD/USD to drop below 1.0000 in morning trading.

Main News for Today

EUR Industrial Production 09:00 GMT
• Forecasted to come in below last month’s figure
• The news could result in further losses for the euro against the USD and JPY
Italian 10-Year Bond Auction
• No definitive time set for the bond auction
• Should demand for Italian bonds be low, the euro is likely to drop further as a result

Forex Market Analysis provided by ForexYard.

© 2006 by FxYard Ltd

Disclaimer: Trading Foreign Exchange carries a high level of risk and may not be suitable for all investors. There is a possibility that you could sustain a loss of all of your investment and therefore you should not invest money that you cannot afford to lose. You should be aware of all the risks associated with Foreign Exchange trading.

By TraderVox.com

Tradervox (Dublin) – The US dollar and the yen have had a great week riding on the fears in the Euro-zone. The euro-zone concerns are expected to continue through this week and the market will be treated to a week with numerous major events.

Monday 14

The market will receive report from Australian Bureau of Statistics showing the Home Loans data for the country. A high reading is regarded as bullish for the economy which is good for consumer confidence. This report will be released at 0130hrs GMT and it’s expected to show -2.0 percent from -2.5 percent registered previously. Another report expected to affect the market, is the Germany Wholesale Price Index expected to be released at 0600hrs GMT.

Tuesday 15

Euro-Zone GDP data is expected to be released on Tuesday with France releasing at 0530hrs GMT and Germany at 0600hrs GMT. The whole of euro-area GDP will be released at 0900hrs GMT. The euro-zone GDP data is expected to show that the region is entering into an early recession as a second consecutive contraction in the economy is expected. Spain and Italy are already in recession while Germany is expected to escape it with a very slight margin.

Wednesday 16

At 1230hrs, US building Permits report will be released by the housing department. The market expects a further increase to 730,000 units. Another report is the US FOMC Meeting Minutes report which will be released at 1800hrs which is expected to show the direction in QE3 efforts.

Thursday 17

US Unemployment Claims report will be released at 1230hrs GMT. The jobless claims filed last week declined to 367,000 but the market is expecting an increase this week to 371,000. The US Philly Fed Manufacturing Index will be released at 1400hrs and an increase to 10.6 is forecasted.

Friday 18

The G8 Meeting will start on Friday and end on Saturday 19. The G8 Summit will be hosted by US President Barrack Obama at Camp David. The G8 members include France, Canada, Germany, Japan, Italy, Russia, US, and UK.

Disclaimer
Tradervox.com is not giving advice nor is qualified or licensed to provide financial advice. You must seek guidance from your personal advisors before acting on this information. While we try to ensure that all of the information provided on this website is kept up-to-date and accurate we accept no responsibility for any use made of the information provided. Opinions expressed at Tradervox.com are those of the individual authors and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Tradervox.com or its management. 

Article provided by TraderVox.com
Tradervox.com is a Forex News Portal that provides real-time news and analysis relating to the Currency Markets.
News and analysis are produced throughout the day by our in-house staff.
Follow us on twitter: www.twitter.com/tradervox

By MoneyMorning.com.au

The oil and gas world meets in Australia this week.

Today and for the next two days I’m at the 50^th annual get-together for APPEA – that’s the ‘Australian Petroleum Producer and Explorer Association’.

I packed my bags and kissed the family goodbye last night to fly up here for this year’s conference. It’s a busy day ahead and I’ll tell you more about it tomorrow.

But this morning I just wanted to give you a heads up on the key issues driving the global energy market…what they mean for Australia…and most importantly what they mean for you…

With over 3000 delegates meeting at Adelaide’s Convention Centre it’s by far Australia’s biggest oil and gas conference.

No wonder it was so hard to find a hotel room!

The important thing to note is that this is not the kind of resources conference that’s full of big and small companies spruiking their story. APPEA is a real industry event where the biggest players in the game get together to talk technical.

In fact, the keynote speaker is none other than Saudi Arabia’s oil minister, ‘His excellency’ Ali Al-Naimi.

Saudi Oil and Gas

As guardian of the world’s largest oil and gas exports, he may be the most powerful person in the world of energy. They call him ‘The Central Banker of Oil’.

As I write, he hasn’t spoken yet. But his talk this morning will be on ‘The future of oil and gas – a Saudi Arabian perspective’.

But the real question everyone wanted to ask is just how Saudi Arabia hopes to increase its oil output to the levels it keeps telling the world it can.

Every time the oil price creeps up, the Saudi’s talk the price down. They say they’ll increase production to suppress the price. Why do they want a lower oil price? Excessively high prices make people look for alternatives, which is no good for a country that makes all its money from oil.

It’s a clever trick, because Saudi Arabian oil exports have never even come close to the levels they claim possible.

Oil fields have a natural lifespan, and Saudi’s fields are no spring chickens.

This chart shows Saudi Arabian oil exports since 1970. It’s never been above 10 million barrels a day, let alone the 12.5 million barrels a day – the red line – Saudi Arabia claim they can produce.

Saudi Arabian oil exports – never come close to claimed potential

Click here to enlarge

I’d like to ask ‘His Excellency’ about the mismatch between actual production levels and claimed production potential, but unfortunately there isn’t a Q&A after Ali Al-Naimi’s speech. So I’ll have to bail him up later instead, and maybe soften our friendly teetotaler up over a few hot chocolates.

I could also ask him if he reckons his country can keep the US as an ally. Especially when the shale gas revolution will see the US become far less dependent on Saudi oil in the coming decades.

Saudi Arabia is in an interesting position right now, so I’m keen to hear what he has to say.

In a resources market that has taken some serious body blows in the last 6 months, oil and gas stocks are still doing well. One reason is this doubt that Saudi Arabia has any spare supply. The bigger reason energy stocks are doing well is simple: the world’s energy needs are increasing.

The International energy Agency (IEA) estimates global energy demand will increase by ONE THIRD in the next 25 years. That’s a huge jump.

Most importantly, the IEA reckon China and India will account for HALF of this growth.

Australia’s Big Bet on Oil and Gas

China is already Australia’s biggest customer, taking a quarter of our exports. But don’t overlook India. In recent years it has gone from 1%, to now taking 7% of our commodity exports. And India is a story to keep watching in coming years. Both these numbers are rising fast. This gives Australia’s fast expanding energy sector a great opportunity.

This is why Aussie firms are making a colossal bet on things panning out like this.

The total investment in Australia’s oil and gas sector in the period to 2020 is estimated to be $330 billion.

To put that in context, it would be like spending a THIRD of Australia’s super-fund pool on oil and gas projects in the next 8 years.

The $330 billion to be spent on oil and gas projects is also an incredible 60% of the $550 billion planned investment for all resource industry investments in that time.

Like I said, we’re betting big on oil.

The CEO of Total S.A. [NYSE: TOT], one the world’s biggest oil companies, is also talking about turning Australia into a ‘global energy hub on par with the Middle East, Canada and Russia’.

I’ve tipped oil and gas stocks for Diggers and Drillers readers this year, and plan on tipping more. This is maybe the most important theme in the resources market today.

And after this weekend’s terrible economic numbers from China – showing imports have all but stopped growing – oil and gas will be one of the few areas of the resource sector that stand to keep performing for the foreseeable future.

Dr. Alex Cowie
Editor, Diggers and Drillers

Related Articles

The Conference of the Year “After America” DVD

The Great Push North for Arctic Oil Continues

Why Europe Will Ditch Green Energy

What Will The Most Important Man in Oil and Gas Say in Adelaide Today?

By MoneyMorning.com.au

Without supplies – whether it’s energy or food – a nation and its economy will quickly collapse.

We’ve see it proven time and again through history.

Whether it’s World Wars I and II, the Punic Wars, the Napoleonic Wars, Middle East wars, or the U.S. Revolutionary and Civil Wars, if you control the supply lines, you control the war and its outcome.

The Europeans know this more than anyone else.

Throughout history, barely a decade passes without one European state declaring war on another…or a civil war or revolution tearing a nation apart.

So, it’s essential to secure supply lines.

But it’s not military supply lines I’m talking about today – although you shouldn’t rule out the prospect of war, revolution or civil war in Europe at some point.

Securing supply lines is just as important in peacetime as in wartime. And one of those supply lines is crucial during both. I’m talking about energy.

To understand the scale of Europe’s problem, consider this, from a September 2011 report from the European Commission:

‘More than half of the EU-27′s energy comes from countries outside the EU – and this proportion is rising. Much of this energy comes from Russia, whose disputes with transit countries have threatened to disrupt supplies in recent years – for example, between 6 and 20 January 2009, gas flows from Russia via Ukraine were interrupted.’

Natural Gas Energy Means Great News for the U.S. – But What About Europe?

The U.S. is in the process of securing its energy future, cutting off its dependence on Middle East energy. It’s in large part thanks to the development of 862 trillion cubic feet of shale gas on U.S. territory.

And that, according to global energy company BP, the U.S. is set to be energy independent and a net exporter of energy by 2030.

That’s great news for the U.S.

But right now, I can’t say the same about Europe.

Of course, ideologically, the U.S. and Europe are different. Despite its move towards statism, the U.S. is far more entrepreneurial and free-market than Europe.

Europeans are still more likely to seek and rely on government involvement than Americans. This means that when national governments or the European Union intervenes, businesses and individuals expect it…most actually look forward to it.

The bottom line is, because bureaucrats are always sticking their noses in, it takes much longer for European nations to get things done.

And because national economies are so influenced by government (run by politicians seeking re-election), politicians are more likely to be influenced by vested interests that are keen to maintain their influence by resisting change (resistance to change is the enemy of entrepreneurialism).

As a report last year in the Economist noted:

‘The old continent [Europe] has nearly as much technically recoverable shale gas (natural gas trapped in shale formations) as America. Europe’s reserves are 639 trillion cubic feet, compared with America’s 862, according to America’s Energy Information Administration, a government agency…

‘Costs are higher in Europe, for several reasons. First, European geology is less favourable: its shale deposits tend to be deeper underground and harder to extract.

‘Second, America has a long history of drilling for oil and gas, which has spawned a huge and competitive oil-services industry bristling with equipment and know-how. Europe has nothing to compare with that. In 2008, at the height of the gas boom in America, 1,600 rigs were in operation. In Europe now there are only 100. America’s more cut-throat market drives costs down. A single gas well in Europe might cost as much as $14m to sink, three-and-a-half times more than an American one, estimates Deutsche Bank.

‘Third, America’s gas industry faces fewer and friendlier regulations than Europe’s. Call it the Dick Cheney effect. And fourth, in America wildcat drillers, if they strike it rich, enjoy access to a spider’s web of existing pipelines, so they can get their gas to market. Europe has no such network nor open-access rules.’

The Problem With Europe’s Energy Supply

It’s no wonder Europe imports so much of its energy. Government and bureaucracy make it hard and expensive for energy companies to exploit oil and natural gas reserves.

And that makes it hard for innovation to take hold.

But it’s not impossible.

It just means Europe will be pushed much closer to an energy precipice than the U.S.

And that’s where you have the chance to profit as the inevitable happens. Soon, Europe’s flirtation with uneconomical ‘green’ energy such as wind, wave and solar power will end. And so it will have to secure its energy future with the only long-term commercially viable energy source…

Natural gas.

That’s why it’s important for Europe to reassess where it invests its energy dollars. And it’s my belief this will result in a boon for the greenest of the fossil fuels – natural gas.

Yet you may be wondering about the U.S. gas glut that has pushed U.S. gas prices down to record lows. Today, U.S. natural gas is trading at USD$2.38 per million British thermal units (mmBtu).

The price of U.S. natural gas has fallen 55% in the past year. That surely isn’t a good sign for gas explorers. Well, stop right there and take a look at the chart below.

European Natural Gas Price

While U.S. natural gas prices have dropped like a stone, European benchmark prices have moved higher. In fact, according to the World Bank, European natural gas prices are 9.4% higher than 12 months ago.

Why Are Natural Gas Prices Higher in Europe?

There are three reasons. First, European natural gas prices are benchmarked to the crude oil price. So when crude oil goes up, so does the natural gas price.

Second is the issue of supply. Much of Europe’s gas comes from Russia. And as Europe saw in 2009, Russia isn’t afraid to turn off the taps when it feels like it.

Third, high prices in any market – whether it’s oil, gas or coffee beans – is a signal to investors and entrepreneurs that there’s money to be made due to a shortage of supply.

The increased investment in oil and gas exploration due to high prices should eventually see prices fall… just as we’ve seen in the U.S. natural gas market.

But until then, the signal is clear – Europe needs more natural gas exploration and production.

Kris Sayce
Editor, Australian Small-Cap Investigator

From the Archives…

What Newton Knew About House Prices …That the IMF Should
2012-05-11 – Kris Sayce

Why a Greek Exit From the Eurozone Could Be Great News For Markets
2012-05-10 – John Stepek

Why Europe Will Ditch Green Energy
2012-05-09 – Kris Sayce

Why It’s Time to Buy Gold
2012-05-08 – Dr. Alex Cowie

Why You Should Be Watching Japan’s Economy
2012-04-07 – Dan Denning

Energy Supply: Europe to Spark a Natural Gas Boom

By MoneyMorning.com.au

Investors need to accept the fact that ‘the game as we have all known it appears to be over’, says US investor Bill Gross. The co-founder of the world’s biggest bond fund, PIMCO, reckons that investors need to change their strategies in the wake of the financial crisis.

To understand how different things are now we have to look at the history of leveraging, before the financial crisis, says Gross. Since the early stages of the 20th century ‘the trend towards financial leverage has been ever upward’. Politicians set the rules, by relaxing regulation and freeing paper currency from real world constraints like gold.

Meanwhile ‘the private sector was more than willing to play the game, inventing new forms of credit, loosely known as derivatives’. The ever-expanding credit had a profound effect on investing attitudes, says Gross.  ‘“Stocks for the long run” was the almost universally accepted mantra, but… for most of the last half century [it was] “financial assets for the long run” – and your house was included by the way in that category of financial assets even though it was just a pile of sticks and stones.’

Investors became used to the idea that extra leverage would push up the value of financial assets in the future. ‘P/e ratios rose, bond prices for 30-year Treasuries doubled, real estate thrived, and anything that could be levered did well because the global economy and its financial markets were being levered and levered consistently.’ In effect, wealth was ‘brought forward and stolen from future years’, says Gross.

The New Normal

But growth expectations ‘exceeded the abilities of global economies to consistently replicate them’. The crash came and now some countries and economies are trying to pay off debt instead of adding more. Globally credit is still going up but far more slowly than before.

The result is ‘negative real interest rates and narrow credit and equity risk premiums; a state of financial repression… that promises to be with us for years to come’. In this “new normal” ‘real growth as opposed to financial wizardry becomes predominant’. But achieving that growth is made more difficult ‘by excessive fiscal deficits and high debt/GDP levels’, says Gross.

So what does that mean for investors? Gross reckons that in the “new normal” commodities and “real” assets will be the star performers. If you are going to go for financial assets then pick those that pay back quickly. So for bonds ‘favour higher quality, shorter duration and inflation protected assets’. And if you want shares look for dividend payers, rather than the longer-term promise of growth stocks.

James McKeigue

Contributing Writer, MoneyWeek

Publisher’s Note: This article originally appeared in MoneyWeek (UK)

From the Archives…

What Newton Knew About House Prices …That the IMF Should

2012-05-11 – Kris Sayce

Why a Greek Exit From the Eurozone Could Be Great News For Markets

2012-05-10 – John Stepek

Why Europe Will Ditch Green Energy

2012-05-09 – Kris Sayce

Why It’s Time to Buy Gold

2012-05-08 – Dr. Alex Cowie

Why You Should Be Watching Japan’s Economy

2012-04-07 – Dan Denning

For editorial enquiries and feedback, email [email protected]

Investors Need to Know The Financial World Has Changed

USDJPY is facing the resistance of the upper line of the price channel on 4-hour chart, a clear break above the channel resistance will signal completion of the downtrend from 84.17 (Mar 15 high), then further rise to 83.00 area could be seen. On the downside, the downtrend could be expected to resume after touching the channel resistance, and as long as the channel resistance holds, one more fall to 78.00 area to complete the downward movement is still possible.

Daily Forex Forecast

By CountingPips.com

The latest Commitments of Traders (COT) report, released on Friday by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), showed that large futures speculators raised their overall US dollar long positions last week for the first time in four weeks as speculators increased their euro short positions to the highest level since February and Australian dollar long positions fell sharply.

Non-commercial futures traders, including hedge funds and large speculators, increased their total US dollar long positions to $20.95 billion on May 8th from a total long position of $13.31 billion on May 1st, according to the CFTC COT data and calculations by Reuters which calculates the dollar positions against the euro, British pound, Japanese yen, Australian dollar, Canadian dollar and the Swiss franc.

Individual Currencies:

EuroFX: Currency speculator sentiment declined for the first time in three weeks in the euro currency as euro net short positions or bets against the currency increased to 106,990 contracts on May 8th from the previous week’s total of 106,990 net short contracts on May 1st. This is the highest level for euro short positions since February 13th when short contracts totaled 148,641.

The COT report is published every Friday by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and shows futures positions as of the previous Tuesday. It can be a useful tool for traders to gauge investor sentiment and to look for potential changes in the direction of a currency or commodity. Each currency contract is a quote for that currency directly against the U.S. dollar, where as a net short amount of contracts means that more speculators are betting that currency to fall against the dollar and net long position expect that currency to rise versus the dollar. The graphs overlay the forex spot closing price of each Tuesday when COT trader positions are reported for each corresponding spot currency pair.

GBP: British pound sterling positions rose last week for a fourth consecutive week and ascended to their highest level in over a year. British pound positions saw a total of 25,339 net long contracts on May 8th following a total of 16,493 net long contracts registered on May 1st. Pound positions have continued to rise higher and are now at the highest level since May 3rd 2011 when long contracts equaled 30,807.

JPY: Japanese yen speculative contracts improved last week for a fourth consecutive week as Yen positions totaled 41,093 net short contracts reported on May 8th following a total of 50,173 net short contracts on May 1st. The improvement in the Japanese positions has coincided with the USDJPY spot price declines as the pair currently trade under the 80.00 level.

CHF: Swiss franc speculator positions decreased last week after improving the previous week. Speculator positions for the Swiss currency futures registered a total of 16,494 net short contracts on May 8th following a total of 14,311 net short contracts as of May 1st.

CAD: Canadian dollar positions declined last week after reaching the highest level of the year the previous week. Canadian dollar positions fell to a total of 60,095 net long contracts as of May 8th following a total of 70,223 long contracts that were reported for May 1st. CAD positions had recently surpassed their previous highest level of the year and reached their best level since March of 2011 on May 1st.

AUD: The Australian dollar long positions dropped sharply after increasing the previous week. Aussie positions fell to a total net amount of 25,104 long contracts on May 8th after rising to 52,280 net long contracts reported as of May 1st. AUD speculative positions are now at their lowest level since November 2011 when long contracts equaled 12,542.

NZD: New Zealand dollar futures speculator positions declined for a third week as NZD contracts decreased to a total of 6,224 net long contracts as of May 8th following a total of 8,025 net long contracts on May 1st.

MXN: Mexican peso speculative contracts trended slightly lower after edging higher the previous week. Peso long positions decreased to a total of 36,928 net long speculative positions as of May 8th following a total of 42,045 long contracts that were reported for May 1st.

COT Currency Data Summary as of May 8, 2012
Large Speculators Net Positions vs. the US Dollar

EUR -143984
GBP +25339
JPY -41093
CHF -16494
CAD +60095
AUD +25104
NZD +6224
MXN +36928