The dollar remains under pressure from the deteriorating subprime mortgage market. The euro set a record high at 1.3797 versus the dollar and the sterling hovers around high levels 2.03.
The market was shocked by continuous warnings on the housing sector this week. Large home appliances retailers lowered profit forecasts, and Standard & Poor’s and Moody’s may downgrade credit rating of over $17 billion debt backed mostly by subprime mortgage. According to Bloomberg, mortgage foreclosures rose 56% year on year to 926k in the first half of this year, in June the rise is a scary 87%. This underlines the fact that the US housing market is melting down and the impact may spread into the broader economy.
The Bank of Japan left interest rates at 0.50% as expected last night. The report showed board members voted 8-1 to keep the rates unchanged, a signal that August may still be too early for the central bank to raise rates. The yen remains under pressure from carry trades.
Source: forexnews.com
Author: Yan Xu
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