Currency Pair Overview Dollar Strengthens On Very Light Volumes

Overall, the Asian session saw the majors losing a few pips compared to the greenback. However, the moves came on very light volume and are likely to be retested somewhere later. The European calendar is packed with releases coming from the U.K., with some likely to move the entire currency market during the European trading hours. 

The Euro (EUR/USD) managed to close higher for the first time in the last six days of trading. The euro gained 25 pips on Tuesday, after most of the day the pair traded in a 100-pip range. However, the moment was short lived because the euro continued to decline during the Asian trading hours. 

The Pound (GBP/USD) traded between the 20 and the 100-day simple moving averages on Tuesday, but eventually the pair managed to break slightly above the resistance area. As it was the case with the other majors, most of the gains came during the U.S. open. In tonight’s Asian session, the pound traded side-ways above the 20-day moving average. 

The Aussie (AUD/USD) gained 110 pips on Tuesday, retracing almost half of the declines seen during the Monday trading session. Most of the gains came during the U.S. open, after the aussie moved side-ways during the overnight trading hours. In tonight’s Asian session, the aussie bounced off the 20-day moving average and fell 35 pips. 

The Australian consumer price index came in at 0.1 percent for the March quarter 2009, which is below what economists had forecasted, but higher than the 0.3% drop in the December quarter 2008. The CPI rose 2.5% through the year to March quarter 2009, compared to an annual rise of 3.7% to December quarter 2008

The Cad (USD/CAD) struggled to break above the 1.2420 resistance line during the overnight session. The pair broke the swing point only during the interest rate decision, when the BoC voted to reduce the interest rate by 25 basis points. However, the market quickly retraced the move, causing the cad to fall 150 pips in a very short time-span. In the Asian session, the cad gained 30 pips on almost no volume at all. 

The Swissy (USD/CHF) traded in a small, volatile range on Tuesday. During the overnight session, the swissy remained in a 30-pip range. However, the U.S. open helped the pair break lower, but at the end of the session, the swissy was again trading near the resistance line. During tonight’s Asian session, the swissy extended the range seen on Tuesday. 

The Yen (Usd/Yen) picked up 80 pips during the Tuesday trading session, helped by the positive U.S. markets. Also on Tuesday, the pair re-tested the 200-day moving average during the late U.S. session, but the move was rejected due to the market’s light momentum at that time. The resistance area will most likely be tested again, during Wednesday’s trading.