The greenback is trading higher ahead of the release of the earning reports of the first quarter of GE and Citigroup after yesterday releases of the building permits and the US housing starts have declined surprisingly in March. The housing starts slumped to .51m and the building permits have fallen to .513m which put doubts about the stability in the housing sector in US after the credit crisis as the down side risks are still existing negatively impacted by the current low level of consuming and business spending which lead to further losing jobs.

The market is still waiting cautiously for the release of citigroup quarterly earning by the end of the week after the recent modifications of the accounting system to lower the loses in the banks balance sheets because of their holding of toxic assets. On the 10th of March Citigroup CEO Vikram Pandit has mentioned profitability in the first 2 months of 2009.

The trading was in a tight range in the forex market as the Easter holidays but with the beginning of the new week the market focus can turn to the current weak economic fundamentals and the credit crisis negative impact which is still exists and pressing on the investing spending confidence. The unemployment rates are still going higher in US and EU and the purchasing managers indexes are still acting in the same contracting pace which came down in UK in March.

The equity market could not go far beyond its recent highs in the same thin trading. DOW could not accomplish what's far from 8000 key level which can help forming a top at this place can put pressure on the high yielding currency versus the greenback and the yen and the gold which is still trying to get over 890$ to get momentum to test back 908 as the top it has failed to pass and dropped to 864$ where it has tried to form a bottom.

The British pound has broken 1.465 level yesterday reaching 1.458 before finding the support that brought it back to test 1.4777 again and it is now trying again to break this support at 1.465 again. Yesterday, UK February Manufacturing Productions which were expected to be down yearly by 14.2% and monthly by 1.5% but they have come down by lower rates by 13.8% and .9% and also Feb UK industrial productions which were expected to be down by 1.2% monthly and 12.5% yearly have come as expected yearly at 12.5% and monthly by just -1%.

These data came by tomorrow meeting of the MPC which is expected to leave the interest rate unchanged at .5%.

The European retails sales have undermined the single currency ability to stand above 1.35 amid profit taken wave could contain the current market sentiment pushing the greenback and the Japanese yen higher again with the opening of the US session. The European retail sales declined in Feb by 4% y/y and -.6% m/m and the market was waiting for a decline by 2.5% y/y and .3% m/m.

The Asian equity markets has opened in the green territory and the European stock markets opened higher as expected after the Dow closing above 8000 last week but Dow has opened lower than this close at 8915 capping the greenback loses across the broad but it managed to creep up in the last hour of the session after recording 7862 low to close down by 41 points at 7976.