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The recent strength of the Aussie dollar has bolstered confidence, but the 80 cent barrier may scare off investors, writes Neil Mellor.

Sterling may be flying high at the moment, but caution is advised as it could be over-stretching, writes Neil Mellor.

The upcoming G7 meeting will most likely put pressure on Japan to reflect economic fundamentals with the yen, writes Neil Mellor.

Optimistic comments from the Federal Reserve don’t seem to have revived the dollar’s fortunes, writes Neil Mellor.

The rush towards the Japanese yen could see a blow up, as the prospects for the currency look bleak, writes Neil Mellor.

The greenback is surprisingly resilient in the face of market problems in the US, as investors are sitting on their hands elsewhere, writes Neil Mellor.

In order to stave off pressure for renminbi appreciation, China was prompted to call an emergency meeting, writes Neil Mellor.

It may be too early to suggest that we will see a resumption of the dollar’s long-term downtrend, but Neil Mellor suspects this to be the case.

Contrary to market predictions after the appointment of an industry hardened US treasury secretary, the dollar is looking buoyant, writes Neil Mellor.

The G7 pressure for a shift in China’s currency policy is likely to see a marked increase in market intervention, writes Neil Mellor.

After a turbulent few years, all signs point to supporting a bullish viewpoint for the euro-zone in 2006, writes Neil Mellor.

Pay close heed to signs that international investors are losing their appetite for South Korean stocks and for indications that the Kospi’s rally is running out of steam, warns Neil Mellor.

Along with the US, east Asian equity markets could suffer on the back of higher crude prices, and investors should seek refuge in the European currencies, says Neil Mellor.

As foreign investors remain as hungry for US assets as ever, it is surprising to see the account deficit still rising. Neil Mellor investigates.

The US Federal Reserve is now unconcerned about any detrimental effects of the recent hurricanes and is on a quest for a ‘neutral’ inflation rate, says Neil Mellor.

Despite negative signs from the oil futures market, the CAD has plenty of backing from other sources that it will continue its strong run, says Neil Mellor.

The freezing of Australian interest rates looked to have scuppered AUD performance, but rising commodity prices has fuelled optimism, says Neil Mellor.

Currencies of commodity-producing countries have proven the most attractrive to speculative buyers, says Neil Mellor.

Short-term predictions for the Canadian dollar are cloudy but if Chinese demand for commodities remains strong the long-term picture could be more positive, says Neil Mellor.

Speculation regarding an imminent Chinese currency revaluation is growing. But a key barometer – the yen – is unconvincing. Simon Derrick explains.

As past ‘recoveries’ have proved to be no more than a correction within the dollar’s broad downward trend, the current revival will likely be shortlived, says Neil Mellor.

 As of February 12, all of Asia’s central banks/monetary authorities apart from China’s had published their end-of-January foreign exchange reserve numbers. These revealed a slight drop in the level of FX reserves of about $2.4bn (€1.83bn). On the face of it, this represented a sharp shift in behaviour, given that Asian (ex-China) reserves grew sharply throughout the fourth quarter of last year – between the end of September and the end of December they had increased by $91bn.

The sheer scale of capital inflows into Asia over the past two years inevitably starts to raise concerns about their sustainability, says Simon Derrick.

Close to recession, Japan must take measures aimed at stemming the dollar’s demise, either unilaterally or together with Europe, says Neil Mellor.

There have been a number of comments of late by Asian central bank officials (most recently by Joseph Yam of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority and Zeti Akhtar Aziz of the Malaysian central bank) indicating that no change should be expected in their respective currency policies at any point in the foreseeable future.

Although there was plenty of rhetoric on currency market issues from the participants at the recent G7 and International Monetary Fund meetings, there was little overt evidence that any substantive progress had been made on the timing of a move by China to change its forex regime. This was, of course, largely as expected.

The yen may appreciate further, as investors start to look for opportunities outside the US, writes Simon Derrick.