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Our Two Cents – Week of 4/23/12

We enjoyed some warm weather in Boston this past weekend before rain pounded the city, but the inclement forecast didn’t dampen our perspectives about the currency markets.

In the U.S., unemployment aid requests remained near a four-month high as weekly jobless claims totaled 386,000. While economists said the March figures were weaker than previous numbers, they downplayed them, saying that the warmer winter may have led to some early hiring in January and February.

In the eurozone, the European Commission said Greece should now have enough money to stick to its economic reform program as the country seeks to improve its financial instabilities. British retail sales increased 1.8 percent, surprising economists because the volume of sales dropped by 0.8 percent last month and were only expected to increase 0.4 percent this time.

For hedge funds, assets rose to new levels as they surged to $2.13 trillion at the end of the first quarter, beating the previous high of $2.04 trillion, set in the middle of last year, according to Hedge Fund Research Inc. The Dow Jones Credit Suisse Hedge Fund Index finished up 0.05 percent in March.

In the foreign exchange space, FXCM reported steady March FX volumes, with retail down 2 percent from February and institutional up 27 percent from February. Retail volume accounted $340 billion, and institutional volume totaled $161 billion.

• British Retail Sales Leap by 1.8% – GBP/USD Breaks Higher, Forex Crunch, April 20, 2012
• Hedge-Fund Assets Rise to Record Level, The Wall Street Journal, April 19, 2012
• US Jobless Claims Remain on High Ground – No Longer a One Time Event, Forex Crunch, April 19, 2012
• The Dow Jones Credit Suisse Hedge Fund Index up 0.05% in March, Hedgeweek, April 18, 2012
• FXCM reports steady March FX volumes , LeapRate, April 17, 2012
• Greece Has Enough Funding, Must Now Implement Reforms -EU , The Wall Street Journal, April 17, 2012

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