Over the last year and increasingly over the last few months, Central Banks around the world have taken center stage in currency markets. First, came the ignition of the currency war and the consequent volley of forex interventions. Then came the prospect of monetary tightening and the unwinding of quantitative easing measures. As if that wasn’t enough to keep them busy, Central Banks have been forced to assume more prominent roles in regulating financial markets and drafting economic policy. W

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The BoE meeting minutes revealed less of an urgency to raise rates.  The dovish statements caused the Sterling to slide against most majors, or at least stop a prevailing bullish attempt. The GBP/USD however continued rallying showing even more USD weakness. The GBP/JPY and GBP/CHF stopped a rally, and the  EUR/GBP shows the Sterling recouping  losses in a throwback.

GBP/USD
- The GBP/USD is displaying strength despite the sterling-negative news on the back of USD-weakness. Th

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NEW YORK (MarketWatch) — Treasury prices extended gains and the dollar continued paring losses on Thursday after a report showed manufacturing in the Philadelphia area slumped more than forecast this month. A separate report said home prices fell in February. Yields on 10-year notes    /quotes/comstock/31*!ust10y UST10Y  0.00%    , which move inversely to prices, fell 3 basis points to 3.38%. The dollar index    /quotes/comstock/11j!i:dxy0 DXY  +0.09%    , which measures the U.S. unit against a basket of major rivals, fell to 74.020, down from 74.384 in late North American action on Wednesday. The euro    / Read more…

Propelled by economic recovery and the recent Mideast political turmoil, oil prices have firmly shaken off any lingering credit crisis weakness, and are headed towards a record high. Moreover, analysts are warning that due to certain fundamental changes to the global economy, prices will almost certainly remain high for the foreseeable future. The same goes for commodities. Whether directly or indirectly, the implications for forex market will be significant.

First of all, there is a direct impact on trade, and hence on the demand for particular currencies.

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