USD

The dollar has continued to rally for yet another day this morning. This comes on the negative sentiment coming out of China and Europe. Investors prefer to invest in the dollar, as they see it as a hedge during great market volatility.

The GBP/USD pair is trading lower this morning by 30 pips at $1.5663. The USD/CAD pair is up by 27 pips at C$1.0281. The dollar has also made significant inroads into the Aussie, Swissy and euro this morning.

The dollar could continue to rise today if there is more negative news coming out of the world’s most industrialized economies.

EUR

The euro has been hit hard in the past week, as the European debt crisis fails to go away. German chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande have failed to resolve their differences. This has led to a lot of instability in the financial markets.

The other issue that keeps pushing the euro lower is that the upcoming Greek elections have led to a lot of cautiousness amongst traders. On top of this, there has been a lot of poor economic data form Germany and other leading Europe economies in recent months.

The EUR/USD pair is down at the moment by 46 pips at $1.2536. The euro has also lost a lot of ground vs. the Japanese yen.

JPY

The yen has recorded mixed behavior versus its main peers this morning. It has declined versus the Aussie and kiwi, as its gains versus its pacific currency counterparts were overdone in the past day. However, the yen is up versus the dollar and the euro as of now.

The USD/JPY pair is down this Thursday morning by 5 pips at 79.43 yen. The pair could continue declining today, as the Japanese currency is a favorite with traders because of its haven status.

Stocks in Asia fell on forecasts of dismal Chinese manufacturing data and due to European leaders failing to come up with a solution to rescue the Eurozone. This just added to the volatility and negative feeling in the markets.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 Stock Average rose. South Korea’s Kospi Index added 0.3%. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 slipped 0.3%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index retreated 0.4%. China’s Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.4%.

Nintendo Co. slipped 0.8% in Tokyo. Many other leading stocks were also hit hard due to the uncertainty coming out of leading Asian economies and the Eurozone. This may have a negative impact on European stocks in the coming hours.

Crude Oil

Crude oil was hit hard yesterday, finishing the trading session below the $80 a barrel mark. The weakness of the black gold comes on a strong dollar. Additionally, there is the fear that demand for fuel could decline. This is due to a slowdown in the Chinese economy and the Eurozone. This is despite the U.S. economy growing faster than its counterparts in the developed world.

The price of oil is up this morning by 18 pips at $90.08. However, these gains are not enough to prove that crude will not slip late today. Another day of declines is possible, as crude is vulnerable to the current global economic dynamics.

Crude Oil

Crude oil is higher at the moment. However, the commodity was much higher earlier on than it is now. This leads Analysts to the conclusion that another day of declines could be on the cards for the widely traded commodity. This means that opening short positions for crude oil will be highly desirable with traders this Thursday.