Daily Exchange Rates

Currency	Bid	Offer	Time
EUR/USD	1.41308	1.41326	Mon Aug 10 19:13:04 2009
USD/JPY	96.936	96.953	Mon Aug 10 19:14:58 2009
GBP/USD	1.64735	1.64780	Mon Aug 10 19:12:26 2009
USD/CAD	1.08837	1.08897	Mon Aug 10 19:14:37 2009
USD/CHF	1.08574	1.08614	Mon Aug 10 19:14:32 2009
EUR/JPY	136.987	137.027	Mon Aug 10 19:14:58 2009
EUR/GBP	0.85761	0.85791	Mon Aug 10 19:13:05 2009
EUR/CHF	1.53433	1.53468	Mon Aug 10 19:14:32 2009
GBP/CHF	1.78900	1.78980	Mon Aug 10 19:14:32 2009
GBP/JPY	159.684	159.754	Mon Aug 10 19:14:58 2009

OIL FUTURES: Crude Futures Slip Lower On Rebounding Dollar

NEW YORK (Dow Jones)--Crude futures ended lower Monday as the dollar rose against the euro and equities fell.

Light, sweet crude for September delivery settled down 33 cents, or 0.5%, at $70.60 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude on the ICE futures exchange settled nine cents, or 0.1% lower, at $73.50 a barrel.

The dollar advanced Monday to a one-week high against the euro. A stronger dollar makes crude more expensive for holders of other currencies. The euro was recently at $1.4116, down from $1.4219.

Crude futures have risen almost 20% since July 13 on expectations an economic recovery will galvanize oil demand. Upbeat data showing U.S. unemployment fell to a surprising 9.4% in July sent prices rising close to $73 a barrel Friday, but a rebounding dollar capped gains.

"The ongoing strength in the dollar quelled the upward momentum in the oil market," said Stephen Schork, editor of the energy newsletter The Schork Report.

Crude has been caught in a tug-of-war between bulging oil inventories and hopes of an economic rebound. Sliding equities, a barometer for the health of the economy, exerted further pressure on crude prices. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was recently down 46.53 at 9323.44.

"We'll stay in this range until will get a weather event or we get a change in supply from OPEC," said Morgan Downey, a commodities trader with Standard Chartered PLC in New York.

The National Hurricane Center is tracking a pair of storm systems, including one southwest of the southern Cape Verde Islands that could become a tropical depression in the next day or two. Another storm, with a low potential for tropical cyclone formation, was near the Windward Islands. Neither is considered to pose a serious threat to energy infrastructure, but serve as a reminder that the normal peak of hurricane season has arrived.

Meanwhile, quota compliance by Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries is deteriorating, according to the latest Dow Jones OPEC-11 survey, falling to 73% compared with the 76% achieved in June, as producers seek to take advantage of higher oil prices.

Front-month September reformulated gasoline blendstock, or RBOB, settled up 1.93 cents, or 1%, at $2.0274 a gallon. September heating oil settled up 1.54 cents, or 0.8%, at $1.9276 a gallon.

More information on settlements and highs and lows for futures on Nymex and ICE platforms can be found by searching for the following headlines:

Nymex Light Crude Oil Close

Nymex Harbor RBOB Gasoline Close

Nymex Heating Oil Close

ICE Brent Crude Oil Close

ICE Gas Oil Close

US Dollar, Japanese Yen Gain Ahead of Bank of Japan's Rate Decision

The US dollar and Japanese yen were two of the strongest major currencies on Monday, just behind the New Zealand dollar, as uneasy risk appetite weighed on the S&P 500 and DJIA. The moves suggest that Friday wasn’t necessarily a turning point for the greenback after the release of better-than-expected US non-farm payroll results provided a boost to both the currency and US equities, but with event risk due to pick up later in the week, we won’t jump to conclusions.

Though not incredibly market-moving for the Japanese yen, it’s worth noting that the Bank of Japan will announce their latest rate decision overnight. The BOJ is anticipated to leave rates unchanged at 0.1 percent, and while some economic indicators - including machine orders, industrial production, and manufacturing PMI - have shown signs of improvement, the central bank is likely to continue focusing on risks stemming from persistently weak domestic demand and deflation.On August 12, traders will be watching the release of the Federal Reserve’s rate decision. The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) is widely expected to leave the fed funds target range at 0.0 percent - 0.25 percent, but the statement could spark heavy volatility if the FOMC announces an expansion of their QE efforts or an elimination of them. Generally, signs that the central bank may increase Treasury purchases have been negative for the US dollar, but indications that they will complete the program within the next month or so could send the greenback spiraling higher. Though highly unlikely, any change to previous wording that “economic conditions are likely to warrant exceptionally low levels of the federal funds rate for an extended period” are sure to spark heavy volatility throughout the financial markets

Euro Down Despite Improvements in French Industrial Output, Investor Confidence

The euro traded on a mixed note at the start of the week, losing against the US dollar, Australian dollar, Japanese yen, and New Zealand dollar but gaining versus the British pound, Canadian dollar, and Swiss franc. There were no major economic releases, though data did show that French industrial production rose for the second straight month in June while the Sentix measure of investor confidence rose to a 12-month high in August. However, there are clear risks to investor sentiment in the future, as highlighted by Andreas Schmitz, president of the Federal Association of German Banks. Schmitz said that there is a “concern” and a “real danger” of another credit crunch, saying that he does not think “it is entirely unrealistic to think there will be one.” Schmitz went on to say that “it is obvious that every bank will have more to deal with in the next 18 months, in terms of defaults by clients and non-performing loans, than they have had up to now.” These issues are not contained to Germany either, as other European and US banks must contend with growing defaults and charge-offs as unemployment rates continue to rise.