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Due to a lack of major economic changes in the US, the dollar didn’t gain or drop much from previous values.

The Dow Jones and the NASDAQ both weakened, with Dow Jones posting a -1.04% change for a three-month low and the NASDAQ weakening by -0.7%. Gold weakened by a small percentage, closing at $1,062.5 per barrel, while crude oil gained to $71.68 per barrel for a 0.69% increase.

The Pound weakened against both the dollar and the euro, largely due to the recent trend of decline in stocks. The GBP/USD pair traded at a high of 1.5660 and a low of 1.5534, and the pair is currently being oversold as it continues on its downward trend. The RICS House Price Balance came out 4% higher than the expected 28%.

The euro was able to gain on the pound, despite the worries over the Greek, Spanish, and Portuguese economies.

Still, Forex investors’ worries and hesitation are evident as the euro remained unchanged against the dollar. The EUR/USD pair traded with a high of 1.3714 and a low of 1.3621, as it continues to be oversold.

The Japanese yen experienced little change against the pound, dollar, and euro. The USD/JPY pair traded at a high of 89.56 and a low of 89.15.

Wednesday night, the AUD returned to its early momentum and rallied upwards following the Australian’s unemployment, which registered three times more jobs than initially forecasted.

As stated on Thursday morning GMT by the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the unemployment rate fell 0.1% to 5.5% from November.

Being one of the world’s still expanding economies, the Australians are generating more jobs than expected, while China is demanding more from its neighbors in concept of raw materials; new investments and more jobs are continuing. With this, it seems that the ozzie is continuing to be strong against all the major currencies in the Forex market.

At 06:52 GMT, The Rate Range:
AUD/USD – 115 pips (0.9215-0.9230); EUR/AUD – 131 pips (1.5623-1.5754)
GBP/USD – 168 pips (1.7496-1.7664); AUD/JPY – 129 pips (84.11-85.40)

EUR Trading data: Wednesday at 12:45pm GMT, The European Central Bank’s Governing Council is scheduled to meet for the first time this year and their non-decision on rates will be published.

Expectations are that the 1.00% rate will continue today and for the next several months. ‘Perhaps’ this will change later on, but not likely at the moment. Last week, the Bank of England retained its rates at 0.50%.

The meeting that will include the President Trichet’s ECB Press Conference, will also discuss as well the implications of European weaknesses in the weaker Euro-Zones (such as Greece).
The ECB published a working paper in December that suggested that it was unlikely for a member state to leave or to be forced out of the monetary union. Actually, this could be more important than the actual Rate announcement.
Wednesday’s Lows & High:
EUR/USD – 123 pips (1.4456-1.4579); EUR/GBP – 73 pips (0.8892-0.8965)
EUR/JPY – 170 pips (131.51-133.21); EUR/NZD – 23 pips (1.9595-1.9618)

USD Trading data: At 13:30 GMT, the U.S. Unemployment Claims are expected at 438k. This seems to be even more important in today’s session due to last Fridays un-forecasted 85k decline in non-farm payroll raised the concern that the economy is not on target for a recovery, and that improvement in the labor market may have slowed – if not reversed !
The lack of new job creation will have other repercussions to the US recovery, as it will encourage the US to boost job growth even further which would be included in a new stimulus plan; linked to the increased US budget deficit.

Yesterday’s Lows & High:
USD/JPY – 65 pips (90.90-91.55); GBP/USD – 170 pips (1.6135-1.6305)
USD/CAD – 122 pips (1.0288)

The Dollar raised in a very thin trading following news that initial Jobless Claims during the last week of December dropped unexpectedly, reaching the lowest level in over a year.

The USD responded to the report by quickly erasing losses against several major currencies, while the ICE Dollar Futures Index (a non-traded health indicator for the Greenback), ended the month up 4% – its biggest monthly gain since the beginning of 2009.

Overall, the Dollar has been down just over 4% for the year versus the basket of six currencies that the ICE index measures the Dollar against.

Many Forex analysts attributed the strength of the Dollar in December to position squaring and short coverings, rather than to a spate of positive economic data.

As the 2010 trading session begins, it will take a few weeks to define more accurately the Dollar’s direction after funds and institutions use the start of the year to lock in long-term holdings.

The Dollar began the new decade against the Euro at 1.4322, against the JPY at 93 even, versus the British Pound Sterling at 1.6168, against the Canadian Dollar at 1.0517, versus the Swiss Franc at 1.0341 and against the Australian Dollar at 0.897.

EUR Trading - The Euro reached the end of Year on a sour note, as investors continue to punish the multi-national single currency in light of weakness seen by some of its members.

The Eurozone constitutes a complex economic entity, in which 27 different economies share one primary currency.

The past few weeks have shown that the stability of the currency is dependent on the overall strength of the member states; on view of the fact that some countries like Greece and Spain (and select Eastern European countries) are displaying credit problems; the overall Euro entity is threatened.

Analysts are pointing to the recent credit downgrade of Greece by all three major rating agencies as the most recent blotch on the books of the Euro which is muting the response to growth signs in Germany and France – the two largest and seemingly most vital economies within the Eurozone.

The Euro ended 2009 and will begin 2010 trading at 133.2 to the Japanese Yen, off a downtrend to the British Pound holding at 0.8856, against the Canadian Dollar to 1.5063, against the Australian Dollar to 1.5959, and versus the Swiss Franc to 1.4811