Dollar on the Rise

The U.S. dollar showed strength on Tuesday against almost all major currencies as the currency market absorbed the dismal ISM data and looked towards a slowdown in Europe. There are increasing indications that the ECB may follow the U.S. Fed and also cut rates, if not Thursday, than possibly in the 2nd quarter.

• Overnight, the Yen gained against the dollar and the euro on fears of the global economic slowdown and the sharp decline in the Asia markets with the Nikkei dropping 4.7% and the Hang Seng falling 5.4% made investors less willing to take on risk.
  -The dollar has lost almost 5% against the yen year-to-date. The Euro is also down about 5% against the yen year-to-date.

• The dollar index, moved off its 2-month lows hit last week to close up 1% on Tuesday for its biggest one-day gain since mid-December/
  -The dollar index tracks the U.S. dollar vs. a basket of 6 major currencies including the Euro, Yen, Pound, Canadian Dollar, Swedish Krona, and Swiss Franc