USD

There was a lot of upward pressure on the greenback back many hours ago. This helped the U.S. currency cap impressive gains versus its main peers. Since then, the dollar has slumped notably. The GBP/USD forex binary option is much stronger at the moment by 0.35% at $1.5712. The AUD/USD currency pair is higher as of now by 0.16% at $1.0335. The losses for the U.S. dollar may be extended once the U.S. market opens.

EUR

The euro was one of the weakest currencies in early trading. However, it has managed to make an impressive comeback. The EUR/GBP currency cross is slightly lower today by 0.06% at 86.30 pence. It is important to take into account that the cross was much weaker several hours ago. A lot depends on which way European stocks go. Also, the outcome of the EU Economic Summit will be key in driving the EUR/GBP during Thursday’s trading session.

JPY

The Japanese yen was a very bullish currency several hours ago, as there was much demand for haven currencies following the stock market slump in Asia. The yen has since slumped versus the dollar, pound and other leading currencies. The USD/JPY pair is up several pips. Traders foresee the JPY to make additional losses this Thursday. If economic data from the U.S. turns out to be positive, then the USD/JPY pair could soar later today.

There was a lot of weakness for Asian stocks earlier this morning. It fell from its highest closing price since 2008 due to weak earnings figures from the top Asian companies.

The concern over Europe’s outlook sent shockwaves through the markets.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 Stock Average retreated 0.9% to 11,357.07. Indices across Asia fell, as they have been overbought recently.

Nikon fell 19% to 2,139 yen. Yamaha slipped 16% to 866 yen. Nippon Paper advanced 13% to 1,492 yen.
There was a lot of bearishness with Asian stocks and indices earlier today.

This was contrasted to yesterday which saw a rally. Traders had a lack of risk appetite earlier on. But this does not mean that European and U.S. shares will slide later.

Traders will need to stay ahead of the trade balance and employment data from both the Canadian and U.S. economies later today in order to make informed trading decisions.

Crude Oil

Crude oil begun the trading day much lower. However, the black gold has once again showed its resilience. It is now trading higher by 34 cents at the $96.95 level.

Traders just feel that there are high returns to make from the crude oil binary option.

With the greenback showing signs of weakness, it is no wonder traders have gone bullish on the commodity.

There are also other reasons why crude prices are higher this Thursday. Crude’s gains this week were cut on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Analysts foresee crude oil to surge in the coming weeks on the news that demand for fuel is much higher.

As the U.S. and Chinese economies expand, this is set to put further upward pressure on oil prices. You will need to remember this while trading crude oil today.

The euro was much weaker versus the dollar in the early hours of trading, as there were fears over the European debt crisis amid the current meeting of ministers in Brussels today. Traders slowly bought into the euro. This resulted in the EUR/USD rising today by 0.35% to $1.2570. This comes prior to the ECB rate decision where the rate is expected to be kept unchanged.