Euro to Canadian Dollar (EUR/CAD) Exchange Rate Forecast to Trend within Narrow Rangeon Oil Prices

The Euro to Canadian Dollar (EUR/CAD) exchange rate was trending within a limited range on Wednesday afternoon. 

As tensions between Greece and the Eurogroup mount, the shared currency softened versus the majority of its most traded currency rivals. Additional declination is as a result of less-than-impressive Eurozone construction output.
The Canadian Dollar, meanwhile, softened versus nearly all of its major peers thanks to declination in the crude market. With demand cooling and supply rising, prices are expected to drop below $50 a barrel again.
The Euro to Canadian Dollar (EUR/CAD) exchange rate is currently trending in the region of 1.4128.

Euro (EUR) Exchange Rate Softens on Grexit Potential

The common currency softened on Wednesday after Tuesday’s Eurogroup meeting failed to find a utilitarian resolution to Greece’s debt crisis. Fears that they will be unable to agree on a compromise has seen trader confidence cool with regards to Euro investment.
‘If we want to avoid going into unknown territory, the only way is to have some time and some tranquility,’ French Finance Minister Michel Sapin told reporters in Brussels Tuesday. ‘That means the prolongation of the program. It’s the only legal tool available.’

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Euro Exchange Rate Forecast: EUR/GBP, EUR/USD, EUR/NZD, EUR/JPY, EUR/CHF – ZEW Swiss Expectations Tumbles to Historical Low

The Euro to British Pound (EUR/GBP), Euro to US Dollar (EUR/USD), Euro to New Zealand Dollar (EUR/NZD) and Euro to Japanese Yen (EUR/JPY) exchange rates all softened early in Wednesday’s European trading while the Euro to Swiss Franc (EUR/CHF) exchange rate recorded gains.
The Euro to British Pound (EUR/GBP) exchange rate took a rather significant dive when UK employment data beat economists’ forecasts and offered hope that the UK economic recovery is progressing strongly despite rumours of a slowdown.
UK Jobless Claims Change was expected to show a -25.0K reduction in jobseekers in January after December’s -29.7K improvement; however, the actual ecostat managed to surge at -38.6K. In addition, Employment Change rocketed to 103K in the three months through December, doubling forecasts of 50K.
The jump in employment saw the UK Unemployment Rate decline from 5.8% to 5.7% in the last three months of 2014 and Average Weekly Earnings finally recorded some substantial progress, rising from a positively revised 1.8% to 2.1%.
Meanwhile, the US Dollar could be in for some movement on Wednesday with the release of MBA Mortgage Applications, Building Permits and Housing Starts stats data.
Tuesday was a poor day for US domestic data when the NAHB Housing Market Index declined from 57 to 55 in February—a surprise turn of events considering economists had forecast a rise to 58.
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PHL financial markets close for Chinese New Year

Philippine financial markets are closed Thursday for the Lunar New Year, after Malacañang declared Feb. 19 a special nonworking holiday.

 

Financial markets in China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan and South Korea are also closed.

 

On Wednesday, the PSEi closed to its 13th record high of 7,803.45 and after touching a new intraday high of 7,840.39.

Meanwhile, the peso inched higher to 44.235:$1 .from 44.245:$1.

 

Analysts said 

Philippines markets are expected to catch up with developments in foreign markets when trading resumes on Friday, a day after the US Federal Reserve would have released the minutes of its January meeting.

 

Yields on short-term US Treasuries fell by the most since August 2011 after minutes of the Federal Reserve's last meeting showed "many" members wanted to keep rates near zero for longer, Reuters reported. – Danessa O. Rivera/VS, GMA News

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Revisiting Nigeria’s Exchange Rate Management System

Following the perennial weakening of the naira, Obinna Chima wonders if the current exchange rate regime in Nigeria can support macroeconomic growth and incentivise foreign investors to hold Nigerian assets

The strong gyration in the Nigerian currency market in the past few days obviously got investors alarmed.  The apparent chaos in the market, which saw the value of the naira against the US dollar dropping to a historic low at the interbank segment of the market has also created a lot of anxiety in the system.

Specifically, the naira fell to around N205 to a dollar at the interbank segment of the foreign exchange market last week, despite several interventions by the central bank, as investors continued to weigh the effect of the polls’ shift on the economy.

As a result of the sustained depreciation of the naira, most financial market analysts have been predicting the likelihood of further devaluation of the currency by the central bank.

It was also learnt that most foreign investors have chosen to remain on the sidelines because of election-related uncertainties.

Indeed, exchange rate management in Nigeria have undergone significant changes over the past five decades.

In Nigeria, maintaining a realistic exchange rate for the naira is very crucial, given the structure of the economy, and the need to minimise distortions in production and consumption, increase the inflow of non-oil export receipts and attract foreign direct investment.

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Free Custom Pivot Point Indicator - Receive Our Free MetaTrader 4 Custom Indicator when you subscribe to our Weekly Newsletter AUDUSD: Forex Technical Analysis February 17, 2015

We would like to draw your attention to AUD/USD currency pair on the H4 chart. US financial markets were closed yesterday in observance of Presidents’ Day. Today the trading is performed on a regular basis, but there is no special US macroeconomic statistics released today. Monetary policy meeting minutes were published early this morning by the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA). We deem that no significant information was announced; anyway this was precisely what has pushed the Aussie higher. According to previous surveys, more than 60% of investors expected the RBA to cut again the rate to 2% at the next meeting scheduled on the third of March. In our opinion, it is now difficult to state certainly whether it happens or not. Especially that the most important Australian economic data will be released only on the second of March, just before the RBA meeting, and before that less significant statistics will be published. The lower the probability of a rate cut, the more chances has the Australian dollar to strengthen.

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China needs forex reforms in response to strong US dollar

As the American economy recovers and the Federal Reserve curtails its quantitative easing program, the US dollar is expected to continue to get stronger. Reinforcing the trend will be monetary easing measures by central banks in Europe, Japan and several other countries.
A strong dollar will create more volatility in global markets, cause crises in emerging economies and pose challenges for China's foreign exchange reforms. Therefore, a major challenge for Chinese authorities this year will be how to speed up and deepen reforms of its foreign exchange market and introduce liberalization at a time when the greenback is strong.
The European Central Bank's recent introduction of its own QE program has weighed on the yuan, which has nearly fallen by the maximum 2% in four foreign exchange trading sessions since Jan. 26. Unlike the decline of the yuan in February 2014, which was driven by the Chinese central bank's move to cut the yuan's daily mid-point price, the Chinese currency is set to experience a longer downturn against the greenback.
China's current foreign exchange market, which was established after the 2005 reforms, was built on a floating rate regulated by the mid-point price of the yuan against a basket of foreign currencies. But the yuan's rates have been decided mainly by its movement against the US dollar. The fact that the greenback is the major currency in the global market and has been weak has not only prevented the flaws of this system from becoming big problems but also made Chinese products more competitive internationally. 

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Lincoln Electric Reports Fourth Quarter And Full Year 2014 Results

Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (the "Company") (Nasdaq: LECO) today reported fourth quarter 2014 net income of $75.2 million, or $0.96 per diluted share.  This compares with net income of $88.3 million, or $1.07 per diluted share, in the comparable 2013 period.  Adjusted net income in the fourth quarter 2014 was $75.4 million, or $0.96 per diluted share, compared with adjusted net income of $89.2 million, or $1.09 per diluted share, in the comparable 2013 period.  The 2013 period includes a benefit of $0.22 per diluted share from our Venezuelan operations, which operates in a hyper-inflationary environment.  This compares with no contribution to Adjusted net income from our Venezuelan operations in the fourth quarter 2014.

Sales decreased 4.3% to $684.0 million in the fourth quarter 2014 versus $714.8 million in the comparable 2013 period primarily due to unfavorable foreign currency translation and volume weakness in our South America Welding segment.  Operating income for the fourth quarter decreased 11.8% to $104.9 million, or 15.3% of sales, from $118.9 million, or 16.6% of sales, in the comparable 2013 period.  Adjusted operating income decreased 12.3% to $105.1 million or 15.4% of sales, compared with $119.9 million, or 16.8% of sales in 2013.  Lower 2014 operating income results primarily reflect a challenging year-over-year comparison in our South America Welding segment due to contraction in our Venezuelan operations. 

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