Forex: US Dollar trades lower as Stocks gain. GBP/USD reaches 1.6300.

By CountingPips.com

The US Dollar has been trading lower today in the forex markets against most of the major currencies. The American currency has been losing ground versus the euro, British pound, Australian dollar, Canadian dollar, Swiss franc and the New Zealand dollar. The dollar, meanwhile, managed to gain ground today versus the Japanese yen.

The British pound traded at its highest level against the dollar in almost a month as the British currency was helped out by the comments of a Bank of England Monetary Policy Member that the BOE could suspend its stimulus program. Bank of England monetary policy committee member Andrew Sentance told the Guardian UK in an interview that it was not wise to expect interest rates to stay at the current historical lows throughout 2010 and that the BOE’s stimulus actions were at the point “where we need to hold back and wait and see how that’s flowing into the recovery”.

The pound has gained over 120 pips against the dollar today and the GBP/USD reached the 1.6300 level which it has not touched since December 16th.  The pound also rose versus the euro, yen and the Swiss franc.

The US stock markets had a gaining session today with the Dow rising by 53.51 points, the Nasdaq increasing 25.59 points and the S&P 500 up by 9.46 points.  Oil traded lower by $1.16 to $79.63 while gold gained $7.50 to $1,136.40 per ounce.

GBP/USD Chart – The British Pound gaining today versus the dollar in forex trading as the GBP/USD pair reached its highest level since December 16th by trading over the 1.6300 level before retreating lower. The GBP/USD broke out of its downtrend on the 4-hour chart and is trading above the 200-period moving average (red).