USD

The dollar has gradually built on its strength in the past few hours of trading. The GBP/USD is much lower as of now by 0.11% at $1.6036. The AUD/USD has slumped 0.06% to $1.0497. The USD/CHF is up 0.21% at 0.9262 Swiss francs. There is a lot going for the dollar at the moment due to there being little positive economic data from the leading economies today. If U.S. corporate earnings come out better-than expected, then this could help push the dollar lower in the coming hours of trading.

EUR

The EUR is lower across the board, despite showing some signs of strength earlier on. The EUR/USD pair is lower at the moment by 0.24% at $1.3050. Traders have decided to ditch the euro today, as there is a lot driving the markets. They just feel that now is not the time to open Call options in the euro. The EUR/GBP cross has fallen today by 0.09% to 81.41 pence. It is vital that you stay ahead of today’s developments if you are interested in profiting from the forex market this Wednesday morning.

JPY

The yen was stronger in the previous 2 trading sessions. However, it has lost a lot of ground today. This is mainly due to the Bank of Japan caving into pressure from the government in connection to economic stimulus. With more stimulus likely, this could very well weaken the yen. The USD/JPY pair is higher at the moment by 0.46% at 87.45 yen. The gains may be extended this Wednesday.

Asian stocks advanced this morning after Alumina released positive sales data. This was the perfect news which the markets in Asia needed earlier on Wednesday. In fact, the economic news comes just prior to the release of economic data from the U.S. in the next few hour of trading.

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index advanced 0.4% to 131.28. Japan’s Nikkei 225 Stock Average climbed 0.7%. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index rose 0.4%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index made gains of 0.2%. China’s Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.6%. South Korea’s Kospi Index slid 0.3%.

Alumina gained 4.6% to A$1.025. Honda added 1.6% to 3,250 yen. Toyota advanced 1.6% to 4,165 yen. Investors hope that the latest gains which we have seen will help U.S. stocks later.

Crude Oil

Crude oil has been weaker for much of today’s trading session. Investors have decided to sell crude oil due to there being a lack of risk appetite in the financial markets. The crude oil binary option has fallen today by 10 cents to $93.05.

The energy has failed to capitalize on the news that Hugo Chavez’s political future is in doubt. There are also a number of other factors at play with regards to the black gold.

It may be that the Asian stock market rally prevented crude prices from sliding even further.

It is highly important that traders follow the corporate earnings data later today, as it may be pivotal in determining the price of crude oil.

Another factor to watch is the strength of the dollar throughout the current trading day if you intend on trading crude oil.

EUR/USD

The EUR/USD currency pair fell 0.23% to $1.3051 today. Traders have lost confidence in the euro, as the hours have gone by. This is despite there being more confidence just a few hours ago. There is a lot of uncertainty prior to Thursday’s interest rate decision for the Eurozone. Therefore, traders will need to stay ahead of events very closely when trading the European single currency.