The euro has surprisingly held its ground lately, despite the sell-off during this morning’s Asian trading sessions, which saw a downturn in commodity-linked currencies like the Aussie (AUD), Kiwi (NZD) and Loonie (CAD).
The rapid sell-off was triggered by an aggressive move against silver by billionaire George Soros, according to the Wall Street Journal. The dip in precious metals prices has pulled down heavily on risk sentiment in Asia, but the EUR appears to have quickly pared its losses at the outset of the European trading session.
As traders prepare themselves for tomorrow’s interest rate decisions out of Britain and the euro zone, the question turns to whether President Trichet and his European Central Bank (ECB) will continue to hold rates steady, as hinted at in late-April, or will another rate hike be expected considering the pace of regional inflation?
Friday’s Non-Farm Payroll data out of the United States also becomes a factor as traders begin to speculate and price-in what impact they are expecting from the American employment sector after today’s less than stellar ADP release.
The ECB is expected to leave its rates unchanged tomorrow, but traders will be listening closely to Trichet’s words to gauge the direction of future monetary policy in the euro zone. Last month’s dovish sentiment put a damper on EUR growth by mid-April, but traders have so far found reasons to continue buying up the 17-nation single currency.