Daily Afternoon Report 13/11/2012 | Forex Trading Analysis

The U.S. dollar was steady against the other major currencies on Tuesday, as amid ongoing uncertainty over aid payments to Greece and concerns over the U.S. fiscal cliff.

The euro came off two-month lows against the greenback after German newspaper Bild reported that Greece could receive EUR44 billion of financial aid in one payment, citing German government sources.

Sentiment on the single currency was also boosted after Greece sold EUR4.06 billion of short term government bonds, which should help Athens to repay EUR5 billion of debts maturing on Friday.

But investors remained jittery amid concerns over a delayed bailout payment for Greece as officials from the International Monetary Fund and Europe disagreed on how best to reduce the country’s debt to manageable levels.

A decision on unlocking Greece’s next tranche of aid, worth EUR31.5 billion, has been postponed until 20 November.

The dollar traded slightly lower against the pound, since the pound found some support after official data showed that U.K. consumer prices rose sharply in October, as a result of increases in the cost of food, transport and university fees.

In other U.S. news, the IBD/TIPP Economic Optimism Index declined by 5.4 points, or 10%, in November, posting 48.6 vs. 54 in October. The index is 0.4 points above its 12-month average of 48.2, 4.2 points above its reading of 44.4 in December 2007 when the economy entered into the recession, and 1.3 points below its all-time average of 49.9.

Later on, the U.S. is to release official data on the federal budget balance.

Daily Morning Report 13/11/2012

The dollar rose against most major global currencies on Tuesday Asian session.

Mondays Eurogroup meeting ended with Eurozone finance ministers agreeing to extend Greece’s fiscal adjustment period by two years but deciding to put off until next week final decisions on the disbursement of the next Greek bailout tranche and the method to make the country’s debt sustainable. Once approved, the next shot of financial aid will end shorter-term solvency issues for Greece, but the country and creditors must still agree on ways to lower longer-term debt burdens, which dampened spirits.

The dollar also saw support on growing fears the U.S. risks falling into an avoidable recession in 2013. If untreated, the ‘’fiscal cliff’’ could siphon over USD600 billion out of the U.S. economy next year alone in the form of rising taxes and cuts to government spending.

Later Tuesday, the U.S. is to release official data on the federal budget balance. In Europe, the ZEW Centre for Economic Research will release its closely watched report on German economic sentiment, as well as data on sentiment in the wider Eurozone.