US dollar is heading lower on the Forex market today as risk appetite returns. Last week was all about eurozone weakness and sovereign debt struggles. This week is all about holiday shopping.
Indeed, Black Friday ended up being a huge success, and Cyber Monday sales are expected to exceed $1.2 billion. The holiday season shopping frenzy is providing a boost to equity markets, and resulting in risk appetite in the Forex market.
Due to the excitement over the holiday shopping season, high beta currencies like the euro and the pound are surging. Commodity currencies like the Canadian dollar and the Australian dollar are gaining as oil prices rise and gold prices rise. It looks as though risk appetite is in full swing, and that means no one is looking to the US dollar for safe haven.
There is speculation, though, that the risk appetite won’t last for long. The holiday shopping bump that is helping sentiment right now could easily fade as the holiday season progresses, and as investors once again turn their attention to the debacle in the eurozone — and what it could mean for the global economy as a whole.
At 15:06 GMT, EUR/USD is higher at 1.3372, up from the open at 1.3321. GBP/USD is gaining, heading up to 1.5560 from the open at 1.5489. USD/CAD is lower, down to 1.0318 from the open at 1.0429. AUD/USD is higher at 0.9953, up from the open at 0.9820.
If you have any questions, comments or opinions regarding the US Dollar,
feel free to post them using the commentary form below.