The US Dollar Remains Firm As Greece And The Fed Dominate Headlines

The new week started off on a positive note with trades buying up the Aussie and the New Zealand dollar while the US dollar corrected from its sharp gains on Friday. The US dollar is holding above the 100 level trading at 100.48 in the Asian session dipping 24 points as traders booked profits. The Aussie is in the green at 0.7641 and the kiwi is up 12 points at 0.7356. Strong comments on Sunday from the Chinese Premier are supporting the commodity currencies as well as investors sentiment. The Japanese yen remains flat this morning at 121.33 ahead of the central bank meeting this week, but not much action is expected there.

Very shortly the market attention will turn to the Eurozone and its negotiations with Greece as The Prime Minister and the Finance Minister of the Hellenic Democracy continue to take to the headlines. The euro tumbled on Friday to trade below the 1.05 level and is holding at 1.0519 as traders adjust this morning. The euro gained 23 points mirroring the declines in the US dollar. With little on the economic calendar today ahead of ECB Director Draghi’s speech traders will focus on news flow.

Bloomberg released comments this morning which seems to be the echoing sentiment in Germany. Berlin cabdriver Jens Mueller says he’s had it with the Greek government and he doesn’t want Germany to send any more of his tax money to be squandered in Athens. “They’ve got a lot of hubris and arrogance, being in the situation they’re in and making all these demands,” said Mueller, 49, waiting for fares near the Brandenburg Gate. “Maybe it’s better for Greece to just leave the euro.” Mueller’s sentiment is shared by a majority of Germans. A poll published March 13 by public broadcaster ZDF found 52 percent of his countrymen no longer want Greece to remain in Europe’s common currency, up from 41 percent last month.

The shift in sentiment comes as Greece, at risk of running out of cash this month, battles with European officials over the release of more bailout funds. Tsipras has also stepped up calls for war reparations from Germany for the Nazi occupation during World War II and Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis has been locked in a war of words with his German counterpart Wolfgang Schaeuble. Last week, the Greek government officially complained about Schauble’s conduct, to which Schaeuble replied that the whole matter was “absurd.”

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