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WFT Group – Company Reviews

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Market Analysis

Today we will talk about one of the most important themes for the trader which are deposit and withdrawal funds. For the beginning, we will tell how it happens with the WFT Group broker.

Every broker has his own rules and principles how to deposit money by traders on the platform. Surely, the WFT group has its own system. But, it’s quite different from the input system of other brokers. The difference is for the better, that’s why we decided to consider it in more detail.

The Way to Involve in The Trading

Usually, brokers are offering several ways how to deposit money on their platform (with fiat currencies, electronic money as YAD, web money, Qiwi etc.), which are differ directly in the input technology and the percentage for the transaction. Moreover, there are usually more ways to deposit money than ways to withdraw.

With WFT Group brokers situations is different. He has approximately the same number of ways to deposit and withdraw earned money. Of course, there is a standard withdrawal of funds to bank cards of various international payment systems, as well as a bank transfer.

Also there are ways to withdraw funds to electronic wallets. Many brokers have a way to deposit funds using electronic wallets, but no withdrawal to them.  This is due to legal problems – it is necessary to conclude agreements with the owners of these electronic payment systems, to undergo a check with them. All this is time, money and hassle. WFT Group went to all this for the convenience of its clients. And now its traders can withdraw Funds to electronic wallets. You can withdraw part of the funds to a bank card, and part to electronic wallets. Such diversification allows you to avoid additional conversion (for example, if you need to transfer money from a bank card to an electronic wallet for a purchase), which means additional expenses.

WFT Group – Transactions via e-wallets

At the moment, the broker of WFT Group can withdraw funds to the following electronic wallets – Webmoney, Qiwi & Neteller.

Web Money is one of the oldest payment systems in Russia and CIS countries.

Due to its reliability, which is proved over the years, it has many users. The big advantage of Web Money is that it has a large number of electronic currencies (fiat currency equivalents). It also has electronic wallets for several cryptocurrencies.

Qiwi is one of the most popular electronic money in the world. It has a large number of ways to enter funds into this system, including using a variety of special Qiwi terminals.

Neteller is also one of the oldest payment systems that can be used to make international payment transfers around the world. It supports 26 currencies including USD, Euro, Yen, British Pounds, Swiss Franc, etc.

As you can see, WFT Group offers three of the most popular e-wallets. Another small convenience – by default, the system offers a withdrawal of funds in the same way as input. After all, users usually deposited and withdraw funds to the wallet that they often use. But, again, you can deposit and withdraw funds in different ways, including partly in one option, partly in another.

WFT group – withdrawal of funds

One of the most painful moments in the relationship between a trader and his broker is the withdrawal conditions. For some reasons, many brokerage companies operate according to the principle: “Entry – one ruble, exit – two rubles.” That is, it is easy and simple to deposit money on their platform, but it is much more difficult to withdraw money. In this regard, the WFT Group is a welcome exception. Let’s list the rules for withdrawing our earned funds from this broker:

WFT Group does not charge a commission for a single withdrawal within a month. The commission is charged only by the payment system through which the transfer is made – Visa, MasterCard, Qiwi, Webmoney, etc. From second and subsequent transfers during the month, the WFT Group withholds $ 12, regardless of the transfer amount.

The minimum amount of transaction – 25 dollars or euro, (other brokers usually have a minimum hold of $ 100). This is very convenient for innovator traders who usually cannot immediately boast of big earnings.

The withdrawal period does not exceed 24 hours (for other companies, the standard period is 3 banking days). Want to mention that 24 hours is the time it takes for WFT Group to transfer money for transfer to the payment system, which may have its own terms for transferring funds.

Due to the approval of fiscal state policy, WFT Group may require the submission of documents to verify identity. But, let us clarify again, this is due to state policy, and such restrictions have all brokers.

Money for Withdrawal

A unique feature of the WFT Group in its withdrawal policy is that you can withdraw ALL money that is currently in the trader’s deposit, including those, which are received as bonuses. Of course, except of those, which are involved in open positions. So, bonuses can be withdrawn from the deposit according to the general rules! Other brokers significantly limit the withdrawal of bonuses or even prohibit the withdrawal of such funds.

Based on the foregoing, we can recommend both to beginners and experienced traders WFT Group as a broker.

WFT Group Reviews

A broker is required for trading. Therefore, people who want to make money on this, read reviews of brokers on the Internet in order to find the most professional for themselves, who will help them become successful.

We want to warn you. Very often the reviews are not real! For example, you can find notes that the WFT Group is a deception, that they are scammers. Although, objective information from this company suggests otherwise.

These messages can have two purposes:

1. They blackmail the broker in order to get money from him for deleting such notes.
2. To defame a broker so that novice traders can go to another broker.

It is no coincidence that such texts appear exclusively on sites that have been repeatedly caught in blackmail and posting paid reviews.

Before you believe the message from an unknown person that WFT Group are scammers, please, make an objective analysis, according to absolutely reliable and easily verifiable information.

WFT Group is an international broker with many years of experience and the winner of many prestigious competitions.

It cooperates with over ten thousand traders all over the world.

Offers convenient and fast money deposit and withdrawal.

Insures traders from unsuccessful deals.

Offers traders the most advanced trading software available today – the platform MetaTrader5.

We encourage traders to work with the WFT Group to make objective assessments of this broker. Let’s make the Internet more truthful together and help novice traders to make the right choice.

Europe is committed to the sustainability of sheep and goats meat

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Agribusiness, sheep meat

The Interprofessional Organisation for sheep and goats meat, Interovic, has secured seven million euros for the promotion of lamb and kid meat in the internal market. This is the third consecutive program granted by the Executive Agency for Consumers, Health and food of the European Commission (Chafea) to the Interprofessional.

It is a continuation of the multi-country program that Interovic is currently developing in Spain and Hungary and whose objective is to promote the sustainable nature of the sector.

The first campaign, carried out from 2015 to 2017, focused on modernizing the way these foods are marketed through new cuts. The second, from 2018 to 2020, promoted the sustainable nature of sheep and goat production. The latter plans to keep focusing on a related message, but this time with the addition of the hospitality industry.

Raúl Muñiz, the president of Interovic, has indicated that “having these resources provides an opportunity for the sector as it allows us to multiply by four the funds raised through the Extension of the Standard and that just renew now”, adding that thanks to the contribution of all the sector have managed to position itself as “the flesh sustainable” and will continue to convey this message to the whole of society.

“We are proud to know that Europe is betting on us again. This project is one of the selected of a total of 49 that were presented in the 2020 call, Interovic bet on promoting the sustainability of the sector and the granting of this campaign gives us the necessary support from the European Commission to be able to transfer this to the whole of society”, said Tomás Rodríguez, director of Interovic.

The campaign to the sustainability of sheep and goats meat will run from 2021 to 2023 with a budget of 6.975.000 euros. Approximately 2.7 million euros will be invested each year (two million in Spain and the rest in Hungary).

The Key Benefits of using Producer Price Index (PPI)

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Dollar , USD

Known as the Wholesale Price Index from the time of its inception till the late 1970s, the Producer Price Index (PPI) and the Consumer Price Index both have extrapolative value and are used to define various economic facets. However, it is important to note that the consumer price index solely emphasizes on consumer spending and on the standard of living of consumers. The producer price index, on the other hand, focuses on the costs of manufacturing goods for a market.

For example, the producer price index negates previous editions of products, such as cars, when it is revealed that newer models are to be introduced or already have been introduced. The producer price index also negates other factors like sales, excise taxes and distribution expenses and instead includes the costs of durable goods which play a key role in production. Here are some of the most important benefits of using a producer price index:

Accurate Measuring of Inflation

People hold a sudden increase or decrease in the cost for consumer goods as a major reason for inflation in an economy. The PPI can measure the inflation’s real growth along with the reduction in total output of an economy, while the consumer price index solely considers factors pertaining to the demand and supply in the economy. The producer price index can be utilized to minimize or eliminate the effect of consumer market inflation on alterations in price and measurements.

Rather, the PPI can be used to accurately gauge the inflation rate by taking into account the price of goods, whether that price increases or decreases and when the goods are sent for distribution.

Predictive Value on Retail Changes

As you know the consumer retail price index indicates the prices of products when they reach the marketplace. And because the PPI gauges the cost of goods before they are released in the market, ready to be consumed, you can say that it can have a projecting value directly concerning their retail prices.

Contract Negotiations

Longer sales agreements involve escalation passages pertaining to the consequences of inflation and how it alters the markets. The PPI can significantly aid in the negotiation of those clauses due to the fact that it can correspond to an independent measurement of price alterations.

The Two Main Uses of the PPI

A Good Economic Indicator

The producer price index can identify various price alterations and changes before the goods enter the marketplace. Therefore, the PPI comes in considerably handy for the government to formulate adequate fiscal and monetary policies.

As a Form of Deflation

Producer price index can be also used to balance other economic time series for price alterations and to interpret those numbers into inflation free currency. For instance, continuous dollar gross domestic product information can be calculated using the information from the PPI.

The product price index cannot be used to calculate the standard of living or any other factor pertaining to the consumer. It takes a couple of days after the PPI is released for the CPI to be revealed. The producer price index uses a standard year in which the CPI is calculated, and each year is compared with the initial year, with the value 100 assigned to it. However, for the product price index, the base year is 1982. Alterations in the producer price index only reflect on percentages, because the minimal changes can be at times ambiguous as the initial number can be greater than 100.

What Can It Do For Investors?

The biggest advantage of the PPI for investors is its power to forecast the consumer price index. According to the theory of producer price index, a majority of price increments that retailers experience will in turn affect the consumer. The consumer price index can provide an affirmation to this situation.

Due to the fact that the consumer price index is a good inflation detector in any economy, most investors would make every attempt to grasp any information pertaining through the producer price index. However, this comes as no surprise to the Federal Reserve and it reviews the reports keenly in order to paint a clearer picture pertaining to the future policies that will be designed to combat inflation.

Top Forex LinkedIn and Google+ Groups

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Social Media, Forex Groups

LinkedIn has positioned itself as one of the world’s most established social media platforms. LinkedIn’s niche however, provides users with the opportunity to expand their professional networks and to seek out up-to-date information from industry peers. Including, of course, those after Forex Groups.

linkedin
Top Forex LinkedIn and Google+ Groups

Statistics from Linkedin reveal that approximately 225 million members, across 200 countries and territories around the globe have joined the social-network, with two new members joining the LinkedIn community every second. That is a lot of networking opportunity.

Forex Traders have caught on to this trend too. In fact, the most valuable LinkedIn tool for Forex Traders is the range of groups that Forex professionals can join.

But what is the benefit for a trader joining a group? LinkedIn forex groups allow Forex professionals to positioning themselves amongst their peers. What’s more, groups offer up the opportunity to expand professional networks beyond personal connections. Being in an active LinkedIn group opens up information of trading trends and opportunities, these can include the delivery of a broader insight into trading news and trends, recruitment and new job opportunities.

But it’s not enough just to join a group, real value comes from group participation and engagement with other members. Traders can boost networking position by adding real value to discussions, by sharing information and through asking questions.

Google-Plus-Communities
Google + Communities

In addition to LinkedIn, Forex Traders are also turning to Google+ Communities to broaden their networks and opportunities. Google+ is Google’s answer to social networking and their attempt to become the biggest social media platform. However, Google+ is more than that, it will be part of every Google product in the future and with 363million users and counting, they certainly think so too.

Here are ten of the most useful LinkedIn groups and Google+ communities from a forex trading point of view:

1. Foreign Exchange and Currency Markets 29,544 members

This is the largest (and fastest growing) professional networking group on LinkedIn for the FX industry. The network has deep exposure to bulge-bracket investment firms, currency funds and fund managers, traders, FX commentators and academics, tier-one consultants, financial recruiters, service-providers, prime brokers, entrepreneurs, international importers/exporters, and retail end-users.

2. Forex Trading 14,390 members

The Forex Trading Group was founded to bring together FX Traders, FX Money Managers, Currency Managers, Currency Risk Managers, International Economists and all those involved in currency trading or management.

3. Foreign eXchange TRADER Network 12,891 members

Foreign eXchange TRADER Network is an international FX Business Networking group providing a forum for the generation of Business opportunities, new business development, information exchange, debate, meeting and stay in touch… (Forex, Foreign Exchange, Currency, FX, Trading, Trader, High Frequency Trading, ECN)

4. All Forex 7,948 members.

This group is a forum for everything about Foreign Currency Trading, from job opportunities within the industry to trading tips and observations from other traders.

5. FX Week 7,849 members

This forex group spin-off forum for online forex magazine FX Week provides a platform for foreign exchange professionals to share thoughts, opinions, news and other articles, as well as to simply interact as a community.

6. Forex Professionals around the World 4993 members.

This is a group for anybody trading foreign exchange instruments, allowing members to exchange ideas and build contacts

7. Forex | Currency Trading 4,126 members.

Sirius Forex Trading Group dedicated to currency trading professionals and fans of the worlds largest over-the- counter (OTC) Spot Foreign Exchange Market. This group provides insight into becoming a results-oriented trader by allowing you to network with other members/professionals and ask questions and/or share your thoughts on our discussion board.

8. Prop FX Trading Group 3,731 members

This group helps to connect FX traders worldwide so they can share information, knowledge and experiences.

9. Forex Trading Community (Google+) 852 members

This small but fast-growing community of traders and forex professionals on Google+ consists of several sections, including Forex Signals and Analysis, Broker Reviews, Special Offers, Interesting Facts, and Events.

10. Forex (Google+) 418 members

This is a more specific, strategy-based community for forex traders on Google+, where most of the posts consist of price charts along with comments. There is a section dedicated to Metatrader, as well as sections on Strategies and Trading and Economic Data. While it is smaller in terms of numbers than the Forex Trading Community mentioned above, it seems to be more useful from a trading, rather than an industry, perspective.

Proof of Income Documents and Showing How Much You Make

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Writing in Office, over book

Having proof of income documents will provide you with several benefits.

People typically have a hard time proving their income when they’re self-employed. Proving your income is necessary if you’re trying to file taxes or get a loan. Lenders will want to see how much money you’ve made to determine if you’d be able to pay them back.

Understanding how to prove your income will make either of these processes simpler, and it’s always good to monitor your finances.

So what documents prove income? Read on to learn about the best options.

Pay Stubs

The best way to prove income if you’re employed is to print pay stubs. Pay stubs are typically provided by employers, but you can make them on a site like ThePayStubs if you’re self-employed. These documents will show several things such as your income and personal info.

What makes pay stubs the best option is they show exactly where your money went. Unlike most documents, pay stubs show what portion of your income went to taxes, insurance, etc. This also makes it easier when it’s tax season because you won’t need to do a bunch of calculations to come up with accurate numbers.

Bank Statements

Proving your income can also be done with bank statements because they’ll show how much money has entered and exited your account. The problem with a bank statement is you could have alternate platforms in which you receive money, like PayPal.

If you’re looking to prove your financial eligibility to someone like a lender, one statement from your main financial institution should be enough. However, you’ll need statements of all platforms you use if you’re trying to file taxes. For example, all of the money that goes into your PayPal is considered income.

Tax Return

Proving income can also be done with a tax return, although it doesn’t necessarily show your current income. A previous tax return is good for anyone who’s looking to borrow money right after tax season, but it won’t mean much to you if you’re trying to file taxes for the current year.

Tax returns are similar to pay stubs in that they show how much of your income was deducted. Whether you’re self-employed or work for a company, you’ll receive a tax return if you make enough to file taxes.

Use These Proof of Income Documents

Proof of income documents come in many forms, but these are the best ways to prove how much money you’ve made. Whether you’re trying to get a loan or are filing taxes, these documents will ensure that the process goes smoothly.

If you’re self-employed, we encourage you to start making pay stubs every quarter of the year. This will allow you to stay on top of your finances and filing taxes will be a lot easier. Should you decide to use bank statements, ensure that you get a statement from each financial institution that you use.

Browse our articles to get more financial advice.

Wall Street Close: Mixed end to the week as growth outperforms value

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Wall Street

The S&P 500 index was steady on the final day of the week, recovering from an early session sell-off that saw the index momentarily falling below 3900 but slipping back from session highs in the 3920s to finish the session around 3910. Sale pressure in “value” stocks in the manufacturing, commodity, and real estate sectors contributed to the S&P 500’s late decline, described by Wall Street.
The Dow fell 0.7 percent as a result of underperformance in these markets, as well as in the financial sector after the Federal Reserve reported that it will not be expanding pandemic-era supplementary leverage ratio (SLR) rules past the end of the month (meaning banks would have to retain reserve capital for their US treasury reserves from March 31), the Dow underperformed.
The Fed’s announcement caused a brief rise in US government bond yields, and some market analysts noted that higher yields are likely to benefit US bank stocks in the future. Meanwhile, Bank of America issued a market-calming statement, stating that the expiration of SLR relief would not affect its dividend plans. However, some analysts pointed out that the Fed could now impose restrictions on bank stock buybacks, citing concerns that they could stifle Treasury market activity, putting financials at risk.
Amid a more subdued US bond yield setting, the Nasdaq 100 outperformed, as tech and “growth” stocks breathed a sigh of relief. The tech-heavy index gained around 0.6 percent in the session, but has yet to recover the 13K mark. The Russell 2000 index rose 0.9 percent, while the VIX fell 0.63 points to under 21.00 as considered by Wall Street.
There wasn’t anything more in the way of other drivers. While the US State Department recently stated that the two sides were having substantive conversations, trade negotiations between the US and China seem to be going poorly, with both sides hurling public insults at each other. Meanwhile, the news out of Europe is largely gloomy, as EU officials increasingly realize that the bloc is in the grip of a third Covid-19 surge, and countries re-enter lockdown.

Top Forex Trading Facebook Groups

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Forex Trading , Statistics

Although Twitter and LinkedIn remain the most widely used social networks for forex traders, there are many communities on Facebook that could be of great interest to online traders. So let’s see some top forex trading Facebook groups. The format of this platform makes it easy to share different kinds of information, particularly the fact that graphics can be displayed so prominently, lending itself well to the publishing of charts, for example. Among the Facebook pages that have the largest numbers of ‘likes’, most fall into one of the following categories: brokers, signals providers, online academies, and community forums.

facebook
Top Forex Trading Facebook Groups

While the primary purpose of these pages is promotional, in order to draw traffic towards the main site, they are often good sources of content in themselves. By connecting with the most relevant ones, you can gather together a lot of useful information and links to content that you might otherwise miss out on with a traditional news feed. Due to the lack of size limitations, Facebook doesn’t lend itself as well to being tucked away in a corner of a trading layout as Twitter, but it can be a useful source of information and ideas nonetheless, particularly if you are browsing your news feed on a smartphone for example.

eToro – 2,4M likes

As the largest social trading network in the world, eToro has been quicker than most to see the possibilities of social media, and Facebook in particular. Their posts often take the form of conversation-starters, rather than promotional announcements, and while there is plenty of content that is specific to forex trading, there are a lot of more general business and social media-related post here too. This makes it one of the more entertaining and useful pages for forex traders to connect with.

Instaforex – 1M likes

Instaforex are one of the biggest forex brokers in Asia, a market that seems to have adopted social media, and particularly Facebook, in greater numbers than any other. Unlike Xforex, instaforex largely steers clear of purely promotional posts, veering more towards conversation-starters and infographics related to online trading.

MT5 Forum – 1M likes

MT5 Forum
MT5 Forum

This Facebook page is an offshoot of the popular MT5 forum, which we covered in an earlier article. It largely exists as a social layer for this community for sharing pictures, infographics, and charts, rather than as a replacement for the forum itself.

Free Forex Signal – 272K likes

Free Forex Signal offers actionable trade suggestions for free, and reports their successes via Facebook. At present, Facebook is too slow and inflexible to allow for copy trading within the platform, although it can form a useful adjunct to these services as a way of drawing traffic and building community.

Indian Forex – 372K likes

Indian Forex Forum
Indian Forex Forum

The Indian Forex Forum is the go-to place on the web for information and insight on currency pairs involving the Indian rupee (INR), particularly USD/INR. Their Facebook page largely consists of shareable memes, currency news, and forum highlights.

Forex Fund International – 121K likes

Forex Fund International is a fund management firm specialising in forex. Therefore, their Facebook page doesn’t contain much in the way of content to interest online traders, aside from regular posts containing “words of wisdom” from some of the biggest names in the history of finance, economics, and philosophy.

Forex Art Of War – 63K likes

As a promotional vehicle for Vance Williams’ Forex Art of War training programme, this is a surprisingly useful page for traders, offering daily insights, videos and analysis from the author himself. It is also a good resource for links to useful articles and discussions of the economic events that are affecting price movements.

Forex School Online – 177K likes

Forex School Online
Forex School Online

Forex School Online is a training programme with a specific focus on the study of price action. The Facebook page is a very active community, and a deep resource of insights and discussions regarding trading strategy and analysis, with charts demonstrating the efficacy of the strategies espoused by the programme.

Forex Count – 51K likes

This page is primarily used by FX broker Forex Count to share news, analysis, and forecasts regarding the currency market, with abundant links to reports and articles from the company itself and the web as a whole.

FXCM US – 86K likes

The page for leading US broker FXCM has quite an educational bias, with plenty of tips for making better use of their platforms, links to online tutorials, and a liberal application of price charts to accompany their sometimes quite detailed posts about market-moving events.

Forex.com – 39K likes

Unlike the more broad-based approach of many brokers, Forex.com use their page almost exclusively to post technical analysis charts pertaining to recent market events, which makes it a useful page for any forex trader to have in their news feed.

Saxo Bank – 184K likes

Basic CMYK
Saxo Bank

Danish investment bank Saxo Bank, which offers online trading in a wide range of financial instruments including forex and CFDs, has a very active Facebook presence that is employed for a number of purposes. These include drawing traffic towards market analysis articles and opinion pieces on their TradingFloor website, and spreading the word about the wider activities of the company, its employees, and the Tinkoff-Saxo cycling team.

Internet Forums

Trade to Win (T2W): It is a platform designed for engaged Forex traders seeking to share their insights, express their viewpoints, or seek advice. The T2W forum provides a sophisticated search feature to prevent redundant threads. Navigating the forums is made simple by their organized structure, where discussions are categorized into six sections: reception, markets, methods, trading career, commercial, and off the grid. This ensures that users can conveniently find forums tailored to their specific interests.

Forex Peace Army – It has a history spanning over five years. Their forums are categorized into “companies discussion” and “beginners bootcamp,” each further subdivided into more specific groups. Notably, the forum includes an actively engaged section named “Scam Alerts,” where individuals who have fallen victim to scams share their experiences to warn others. Users can pose questions about brokers or websites suspected of fraudulent activities to gather insights from others who may have encountered similar situations.

Additionally, the website provides a search function enabling users to find specific forums by entering keywords, author names, question statuses, prefixes, or dates. For those looking to enhance their understanding before engaging in the Forex Peace Army discussions, the platform offers useful books tailored for beginners.

Baby Pips Forex –  This forum is another reputable platform catering to both novice and seasoned traders. Valuable information can be discovered in categories such as “brokers,” “trading language and indicators,” and “trading technology and tools,” particularly beneficial for those new to trading. For individuals with a foundational understanding, there are sections dedicated to analyzing trading techniques like automated, copy, or mirror trading. Additionally, Baby Pips provides an educational section to supplement forum discussions, along with four distinct calculators that serve as handy Forex tools.

Forex Forum – It stands out as another platform committed to supporting its members in achieving profitable trading outcomes by fostering global communication on both the fundamentals and nuances of Forex. This user-friendly website allows participants to engage with content related to indicators, tools, brokers, and trading software through reading and commenting. The platform also hosts threads dedicated to strategies and trading systems, including discussions on scalping or hedging.

Similar to the Forex Peace Army forum, Forex Forum includes a “scam alert” section, providing a space for users to express concerns or doubts about a particular broker. This feature enhances the platform’s commitment to fostering a secure and transparent trading environment for its community.

So that are ones of the top forex trading Facebook and Internet groups, we well come with more few good examples in the future.

Top Ten Forex Forums

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Using tablet

Ever since the dawn of online forex trading, messageboards and forums have formed the backbone of the online forex trading community. Although many traders are using social media to interact with each other now, the specificity and ready-made community aspect of forums means that they are still the go-to place for forex traders to glean information and wisdom from one another. Here, we have collected the ten most popular forex forums online so that you can have a look for yourself – starting with the ubiquitous Forex Factory.

Forex Factory

Alexa rank: 1,540

For a long time now, Forex Factory has been the leading online Forex forum for forex traders, with a huge user base and an established reputation. It consists of nine sub-forums on a range of topics including Interactive Trading, Trading Systems, Trading Discussion, Platform Tech, Broker Discussion, Trading Journals, Rookie Talk, Commodities and Stocks, and Commercial Content.  As well as displaying these on the home page, there is also a highlights section showing all the most recent posts, one of the best trading calendars on the web, market updates, and news from a variety of online sources. tatistics.

DailyFX Forum

Alexa rank: 4,669

Unlike most of the forums in this list, DailyFX is owned by a leading broker, FXCM, and the content is tailored towards their clients. However, there is plenty on here to interest customers of other brokerages, and it’s certainly one of the most active forums in the FX community. The forum itself takes a very segmented approach, with no fewer than 24 sub-forums grouped under categories such as Education and Analyst Research, Trade the Markets with our Analysts, Traders Lounge, Forex Education, Automated Trading, and FXCM Account Support and Trading Platforms. In addition to the very well populated English language forum, there are also sub-forums in eight other languages, including Japanese, Spanish, and Swedish.

MT5 Forum (Invest Social)

Alexa rank: 4,211

As the name suggests, this is the official forum for users of the popular Metatrader trading platform, offering users the chance to dip into the combined expertise of the community that centres around this platform.

Despite ostensibly being a forum for MT5 users, there is just as much (if not more) content surrounding the more popular Metatrader 4, and quite a lot of general forex trading discussion for users of all platforms, particularly in the Trading Discussion area of the forum.

Babypips Forum

Alexa rank: 7,594

As one of the foremost Forex trading educational websites, it is natural that this discussion board focuses on the needs of beginner traders, although some of the conversations might be of interest to more experienced traders too, especially the Analyst Arena sub-forum. There are dedicated sections for different disciplines, such as fundamental analysis and technical analysis, day and swing trading strategies, and automated trading. A great place to further your knowledge and find answers to your specific questions.

MQL4 Forum

Alexa rank: 9,994

While the MT5 forum seems to have hoovered up quite a substantial chunk of the Metatrader user community, this forum, which is dedicated to MT4 and its programming language MQL4. Although there is some general trading discussion here, most of the discussions are specifically about programming MQL4 for automated trading and signal generation, so if you’re looking to learn more about this topic or find answers to any questions you might have about it, then this forum is probably the best resource on the web for this.

EarnForex

Alexa rank: 16,708

While this forum doesn’t really offer anything out of the ordinary, it is very well-populated and you can always get quick responses to your questions. It contains 20 different forums related to different aspects of forex trading, including Technical and Fundamental Analysis, Trading Systems and Strategies, Forex Brokers, and Forex Education, a section dedicated to Metatrader, and sub-forums in non-English languages such as Russian, Chinese, and Spanish.

EliteTrader

Alexa rank: 28,603

Unlike most of the other Forex forums on this list, EliteTrader doesn’t split up its forum into sub-sections, with everything taking place on the one messageboard. This makes it a little trickier to find the topics that you are looking for, but only a little, and it has the knock-on effect of making the forum more inclusive. This means that, whenever you post something new, it will be seen by the whole community, and you will be more likely to get a quick response.

Trade2Win Forums

Alexa rank: 24,349

Although this forum purports to cater for traders in all markets, most of the traffic comes from forex traders, and these sections are by far the most popular in terms of viewer and post numbers. The sub-forums – of which there are many – are divided into categories such as T2W Community, Trading Career, Trading Tools, Trading Control, Trading Methods, Trading Brokers, Trading Choices, and New Traders, but it is the Forex discussion (in the Trading Choices sub-section) that will be of most interest to FX traders, and this is coincidentally the most popular section of the forum.

Forex Abode Forums

Alexa rank: 85,269

With the slogan ‘Vision for the Heights, Looking at the Depths’, it isn’t surprising to see that this Forex forum has quite a heavy emphasis on analysis, with a large, well-populated sub-forum dedicated to this subject. With a breezy, non-standard front end incorporating more graphics than your typical forum, and a certain light-heartedness pervading the whole site, it makes a refreshing change from the dry, text-heavy appearance sported by many trading forums. It’s also a repository for quite a wide range of resources that can be useful when trading forex, including free trading algorithms, a forex sentiments meter, and a section on trading systems.

Forex TSD

Alexa rank: 25,668

Nonetheless,rather than sticking the categories on the home page, this forum just puts all the latest and busiest discussions up there with a link to the sub-forum. This is actually quite helpful, as it reduces the risk of posting a question in the wrong section and not having it seen by the right people. It’s just as well, because one of the main strengths of this forum is that it covers lots of niche areas, with big sections on Metatrader 4 and Harmonic Trading, and these might not have had the chance to grow had they been hived away in obscure sub-forums.

Editors’ Note: As of 2018, the Forex TSD forum moved to become part of the MQL5 community

Top 7 Forex Trading Youtube channels

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Youtube

With the advent of YouTube, those who are seeking educational videos have more choice than ever. And forex traders, both beginners and experienced, have within their grasp a whole world of content to learn from, and it includes forex trading Youtube channels.

It has never been easier to learn a new skill or improve an existing one through the internet. While some prefer reading and others prefer to watch videos, combining both can be an effective method in improving your understanding of a topic, like forex trading.

In this article, we outline the best forex trading YouTube channels to follow, for both novice and seasoned investors.

Finance Illustrated

Finance Illustrated is an up-and-coming YouTube channel that provides free resources for traders and investors, including broker reviews and educational videos covering the basics of trading, such as the application of take profit and stop loss orders in forex trading.

The main points of each broker review are split into three categories; the good, the bad and the ugly, so that traders can get a feel for the broker before they trade there. The channel also provides explainers on different ways you can use eToro to trade stocks, cryptocurrencies and forex markets and is also associated with some simulation games and external tools that help beginner traders to trade Stocks, Forex and Bitcoin, like the popular app Trading Game.

With detailed reviews on brokers and educational material, be sure to follow Finance Illustrated if you are trading the markets.

Bloomberg Markets and Finance

Next up, media giant Bloomberg Markets and Finance. This channel provides the latest news, analysis and commentary on a wide spectrum of financial markets, including stocks, precious metals, forex trading, and cryptocurrency.

The channel also hosts live debates from time to time, such as the ‘Great Crypto Debate’. Five playlists on the channel cover; cryptocurrency and blockchain, and financial markets and analysis, as well as three feature shows.  These are the David Rubenstein show, Real Yield, and Brilliant Ideas.

Bloomberg are known for getting industry experts and guests on their show for exclusive commentary, interviews and insights. With more than 38 million views on their YouTube channel and more than 330,000 subscribers, Bloomberg Markets and Finance are an essential YouTube channel to follow for investors.

Financial Times

The Financial Times is one of the oldest and most respected financial publications in the world. Therefore, you should not miss out on their YouTube channel if you are a trader or investor. With more than 300,000 subscribers and nearly 59 million views, it is one of the most popular channels for markets news and analysis.

The videos are categorized in a similar way to how the articles in their newspaper are, with stories falling under one of many categories such as opinion, world, companies, analysis, and so on. Individual playlists for each news category are available.

Like Bloomberg, to keep on top of developments in different markets and track fundamentals, the Financial Times YouTube channel is a crucial resource for any investor.

Chat with Traders

Hosted by Sydney resident Aaron Fifield, Chat with Traders is a bit like a talk show and provides commentary from real traders on various markets, such as forex, stocks, futures, options and cryptocurrency.

This forex trading Youtube channel has more than 80,000 subscribers and provides long-form conversations with talented traders, investors and market participants to give you their personal story and share their years of experience. There is also some focus on regulatory and legal issues within the financial world.

Chat with Traders is definitely worth following, as the variety of content and in-depth interviews provide a ton of educational resources, even for experienced traders. The great thing about this channel is that you hear from the professionals themselves; what they think, what they recommend and what they’ve learned.

Investopedia

Investopedia has a large following of about 127,000 subscribers and they are known for their dictionary-style website that explains every financial and economic concept you can think of.

Their educational articles are supplemented by their YouTube channel, which has educational videos that explain key concepts. The channel also presents Investopedia profiles on key market commentators, participants and analysts, as well as providing commentaries from important players and broker reviews.

If an Investopedia article doesn’t make much sense, then you are sure to find a video that explains it with a video on their YouTube channel. Also, with exclusive interviews and features, Investopedia is certainly a finance and markets channel to keep an eye on.

CNBC

CNBC is one of the leading media organisations in the US and has decent coverage of financial markets. The YouTube channel has almost 800,000 subscribers and over 281 million views, making it the most popular in investing channel on this list.

CNBC largely covers news and analysis on stock markets, companies, and other financial markets. Investors and traders should use this channel to keep updated on fundamental factors affecting financial markets, so this channel is similar – and complementary – to the Financial Times and Bloomberg Markets and Finance channels.

Financial Education

Finally, we come to Financial Education , that must be in the list of best forex trading Youtube channels, which provides education and information on trading. The show’s host, Jason, said he created the channel so that anyone in the world could learn about investing , personal finance and entrepreneurship. With more than 300,000 subscribers, it seems his efforts are appreciated and valued.

Financial Education provides opinion and commentary on the markets by the show’s host and general advice and tips on how to invest and manage personal finances. Jason uses his videos to tell us what stocks he’s watching, which ones he’s buying, as well as guides to trading the stock markets. With a wealth of information in this YouTube channel, everyone that’s interested in financial markets should check it out.

EUR/USD Stabilizes at 1.12 Following US Data Deluge

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Dollar , USD

The EUR/USD stabilizes to an intraday high of 1.1249 before falling sharply back toward the 1.12 handle. The pair was stabilized around 1.1208, advancing 0.1 percent. The EUR/USD faces initial support at 1.1127. A break below that level would lead to 1.1057. On the upside, resistance is ascending from 1.1324.

In economic data, German inflation showed signs of recovery in February after prices fell for the first time since 2009, a sign Europe’s largest economy was gradually regaining its footing amid rebounding oil prices.

Germany’s consumer price index rose at an annualized rate of 0.1 percent in February after plunging 0.4 percent at the start of the year, preliminary estimates revealed on Friday. However, the country’s harmonized index of consumer spending – the gauge used by the European Central Bank – remained in negative territory, declining 0.1 percent annually. The harmonized index had fallen at an annual rate of 0.5 percent in January.

Friday’s figures offer little hope that the broader euro area, comprising of 19 states including Germany, could avoid falling into a vicious cycle of deflation. Eurozone consumer prices fell 0.6 percent annually in January, the European Commission confirmed earlier this week, edging further away from the ECB’s target of just below 2 percent.

Plunging oil prices have squashed inflationary pressures throughout the advanced industrialized world, including the United States, which posted an annual inflation rate of -0.1 percent in January. That was the first time since October 2009 inflation had declined.

On Friday the Commerce Department said the US economy slowed more than initially estimated in the fourth quarter, stemming from a wider trade deficit and smaller inventory buildup. Gross domestic product expanded 2.2 percent annually in the fourth quarter, down from the “advance” estimate of 2.6 percent. However, the data set pointed to sustained growth in consumer spending, offering hope that the fourth quarter slowdown was only temporary.

Separately, US consumer confidence slipped in February, but remained close to January’s 11-year high. The Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan consumer sentiment index eased to 95.4 in February from 98.1 the previous month.

Rounding out Friday’s data releases was a housing report from the National Association of Realtors. Pending home sales, a forward looking indicator of US home sales, increased 1.7 percent in January to the highest level since August 2013, then EUR/USD stabilizes. The NAR expects existing home sales to reach a total of 5.26 million this year, up 6.4 percent from 2014.

EUR/USD Little Changed as Goldman Sachs Lowers Forecast

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Trading and exchange analysis

The euro posted modest gains against the US dollar on Wednesday, although upside was limited after international investment bank Goldman Sachs lowered the common currency’s near-term forecast.

The EUR/USD advanced 0.15 percent to 1.1360, stopping well short of the 1.14 level. The pair faces near-term support at 1.1301 and resistance at 1.1372. The EUR/USD has plunged more than 17 percent year-on-year. The pair was trading closer to 1.40 last spring.

The euro was also trading near seven-year lows against the British pound. The EUR/GBP fell 0.11 percent to 0.7331, rebounding from an intraday low to 0.7314.

The common currency has been mired in economic and political turmoil stemming from plunging inflation, violence in Ukraine and a deepening Greek crisis.

As Athens struggles to make whole on its campaign promise that Greeks could have the euro without the “cruel” austerity tied to bailout reforms, the newly elected Syriza party could face a political backlash. While the European Commission accepted the validity of Greece’s recently proposed reforms, the European Central Bank and International Monetary Fund publicly disclosed their displeasure with the lack of details in the plans.

“The commitments outlined by the authorities differ from existing program commitments in a number of areas,” ECB President Mario Draghi said in a letter to Eurogroup head Jeroen Dijsselbloem.

Greece slipped back into contraction in the fourth quarter, as the country’s deteriorating climate has added another layer of complication to ongoing bailout talks.

The ongoing Greek bailout crisis likely factored into Goldman Sachs’ latest forecast for the euro. Goldman now sees the common currency at 1.12-1.13 US over the next three months, down from a previous forecast of 1.14. The euro is expected to fall to 1.10 in the next six months, down from a previous forecast of 1.11. The euro will then plunge to 1.08 in a year’s time.

A plunging euro boosted Germany in the fourth quarter, as the bedrock of the Eurozone economy expanded more than twice the rate of forecast. Germany’s GDP expanded 0.7 percent in the final three months of 2014, up from 0.1 percent the previous month. Year-on-year, this translated into an annualized gain of 1.6 percent. Euro area growth averaged 0.3 percent in the fourth quarter, official data revealed earlier this month.

Eurozone consumer prices declined at an annual rate of 0.6 percent in January. Deflation was steepest in Greece, while almost all Eurozone countries experienced negative rates. The European Commission next week is expected to report an even steeper fall for February.

Fed’s Yellen Hints Rate Hike, but Stresses Patience

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Financila Market, Frankfurt

The Federal Reserve could begin normalizing interest rates this year, but won’t rush to do so amid tepid wage growth and tame inflation, central bank Chairwoman Janet Yellen said on Tuesday.

Testifying before Congress, Yellen sought to lay the groundwork for how the Federal Reserve would begin raising interest rates after more than six years. She continued to stress patience in normalizing monetary policy, echoing the Federal Open Market Committee’s January rate statement.

The Federal Reserve “will at some point begin considering an increase in the target range for the federal funds rate on a meeting-by-meeting basis,” Yellen told Congress on Tuesday. However, Yelllen was careful to manage expectations, stressing that the Fed’s eventual change in language would not necessarily translate into a shift in policy.

“It is important to emphasize that a modification of the forward guidance should not be read as indicating that the [Federal Reserve] will necessarily increase the target rate in a couple of meetings,” she added. “The modification should be understood as reflecting the [Federal Reserve’s] judgment that conditions have improved to the point where it will soon be the case that a change in the target range could be warranted at any meeting,”

The data-driven Fed has relied on the economic indicators to adjust monetary policy, having closed the books on a record bond-buying program only last October. Yellen said on Tuesday that unemployment was still too high, despite acknowledging broad improvements “on many dimensions.” Unemployment edged up slightly to 5.7 percent in January as workforce participation increased. Employers added 257,000 jobs in January and have added an average of 336,000 jobs per month over the last three months.

While several Fed officials have indicated they would like to have the option to raise interest rates in June, the minutes of the January FOMC meetings revealed growing concerns about tame inflation and a volatile global economy. For its part, the Fed has remained consistent in its messaging since December, when it first started using the word patience to describe interest rate adjustments.

The FOMC’s next meetings will be held in Washington on March 17-18. They will be accompanied by revised GDP, inflation and employment forecasts, as well as the closely followed “dot-plot” chart of interest rate expectations. The Fed’s December forecast showed policymakers anticipated interest rates to rise to 1.125 percent by the end of the year.

EUR/GBP at 7-Year Lows Ahead of Carney, Draghi Remarks

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Pounds, GBP

The EUR/GBP sunk to fresh seven-year lows on Tuesday, as the beleaguered euro continued to struggle amid ongoing talks between Greece and its EU paymasters about Athens’ proposed four-month loan extension.

The EUR/GBP hit 0.7316 in Tuesday’s European session, a new seven-year low. The pair rebounded slightly in Wednesday’s Asian session and was trading at 0.7333. The pair’s next lifeline is at 0.7319. A break below that level would expose the 0.7300 handle. On the upside, initial resistance is likely found at 0.7354.

On Wednesday Bank of England Governor Mark Carney will testify before parliament’s Treasury Committee. Britain’s top central banker is expected to highlight the country’s steady economic growth over the past year, despite plunging inflation. Carney has stated before that inflation could fall below zero by the spring and that the BOE could cut interest rates further to prevent long-term deflation. According to the Bank’s latest inflation report, the consumer price index will average around zero in the middle of the year before rebounding toward the end of 2015.

Last year investors appeared certain that the BOE would be the first major central bank to begin lifting interest rates. Given Britain’s currency macroeconomic realities, analysts expect the BOE to hold off on raising interest rates until at least the beginning of 2016.

Meanwhile, European Central Bank President Mario Draghi will visit the European Parliament in Brussels on Wednesday, where he will participate in a Plenary Debate on the ECB’s 2013 Annual Report.

Eurozone inflation is forecast to fall at a near-record pace in February, stoking concerns about the long-term health of the currency region and whether quantitative easing would be enough to kick start the recovery. While Germany posted stronger than forecast GDP growth in the fourth quarter of last year, the bulk of the gains were attributed to a weakening euro and plunging energy prices.

The European Commission will release preliminary euro area CPI figures next Monday. The ECB’s Governing Council will coalesce next Wednesday and Thursday to discuss monetary policy and unveil new economic projections.

In January the ECB announced it would pump up to €1 trillion into the currency region over the next year-and-a-half to stave off deflation. The €60 trillion-a-month bond buying program was much larger than analysts had expected. The announcement brought the ECB closer into line with Bank of England and United States Federal Reserve, which unleashed their own bond buying programs following the 2008 financial crisis.

A Trader’s Guide to Futures – Part 2

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Stocks Chart

In the first section of this guide we took a look at what a futures contract actually is, and how it works at a basic level. The second part of the guide will describe why exactly investors find them so useful and when they should be considered as an instrument worth investing in.

This part of the guide will give an overview of how the futures market works in aggregate, and why investors bother with it, leading on to Part 3 which will show how to assess and value futures contracts.

Why buy futures?
In part one the parties involved had their own goals. The farmer was looking to get some cash up front for his grain, the investor was looking to make a profit off of a prediction that the price of grain was set to rise. It’s important to remain on the safe side and avoid debt management by working with a professional like these insolvency practitioners London. This is one type of futures contract, but there are many different objectives and uses for such contracts. Below we list the two basic uses of a futures contract:

Hedging risks: Futures contracts allow companies and investors to stabilize the price of a volatile asset in the long term, reducing pricing risk. The airline industry is the most famous partaker of these type of contracts, with aircraft fuel constantly being fixed by various futures contracts.

In an industry highly cost sensitive to changes in a volatile asset this makes sense, though the recent drop in oil prices has many airlines stuck to contracts buying fuel way above current market price.

Instead of trying to guarantee the price of oil, some investors try to limit their downside from the bond market by investing in instruments like interest rate swaps. This means that, instead of fixing a price, the risk of losses on certain investments is lowered. This principle can be applied all over the capital markets.

Speculation: In order to take advantage of predictions about future prices, futures are often the best way to get exposure to a commodity and increase exposure using the leverage discussed in Part 1. Speculators, like our grain investor, try to make money all the time by betting on the futures markets.

In fact, all short contracts on stocks and bonds are a kind of future that work in this way. An agreement is made to sell stock of United Company Group at $10 in six months. If the price at that date is $8, the seller is able to make $2. Famous short sellers, like hedge fund managers, do this with millions of dollars at a time.

Who buys futures?
Because of the immense variety of markets that futures are available in, a vast cross section of market players are involved in buying and selling them. From companies that want to fix the price of commodities to hedge fund managers that want to short a company, to a bank that has taken on too much risk in a certain market.

Because of this, basically everyone but specialists trade futures. Commodity producers sell them in order to secure cashflow; market makers buy and sell them en masse in order to take a margin by selling them on, maintaining market liquidity; hedge fund managers buy and sell them against each other; companies hedge their costs on them; financial firms manage their risks based on them; the list goes on and on.

The whole futures market works together in this way in order to set prices for the foreseeable future, and gives a huge economic incentive to analyzing market trends in order to predict the future price of assets.

This means, because of the arbitrage dynamics, that today’s price is more representative of the market’s expectations for the future of a certain asset. The market can, of course, be wrong, but it offers a kind of price stability and predictability that allows both investors and normal companies to operate.

The next section of this guide will concentrate on how exactly you can trade futures, and what the steps are to set up your first trade.

 

Related Posts:

A Traders’s Guide to Futures – Part 1

German Business Confidence Rises in February: Ifo

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Trading and exchange analysis

 

 

German business confidence improved again in February, rising for the fourth consecutive month in the latest sign Europe’s largest economy was recovering from last year’s third quarter slump.

The business climate index, which is derived from a monthly survey of 7,000 companies, rose to 106.8 from 106.7 in February, the Munich-based Ifo Institute reported on Monday. Economists forecast a bigger rise to 107.7.

The assessment of the current business climate improved further in February, rising to 102.5 from 102.0. The current assessment index declined slightly to 111.3 from 112.7.

“Satisfaction with the current business situation decreased somewhat, but companies expressed greater confidence in future business developments,” said Ifo president Hans-Werner Sinn in a press release. “The German economy is proving robust in the face of geopolitical uncertainty.”

Business conditions improved somewhat in manufacturing, with the six-month business outlook reaching its highest level since August 2014. Business conditions in wholesaling and construction deteriorated slightly this month, Ifo data showed.

The figures provided added assurance that Europe’s largest economy was regaining momentum despite geopolitical uncertainties, euro area deflation and the growing threat of a Greek default.

Germany’s gross domestic product rebounded sharply in the fourth quarter of last year, growing 0.7 percent. That was more than double the rate of forecasts and well above the Q3 rate of just 0.1 percent. Year-on-year, Germany’s economy grew 1.6 percent. The Federal Statistics Office will release updated fourth quarter GDP figures on Tuesday.

According to analysts, Germany is on pace for around 0.4 percent quarterly growth in the first three months of 2015, having benefited from cheap oil and a weaker euro. However, the German economy is expected to remain subdued this year, according to a January forecast by the International Monetary Fund. The international lending institution said it expects Germany to grow only 1.3 percent in all of 2015, followed by a 1.5 percent growth pace next year. By comparison, euro area growth will average only 1.2 percent this year and 1.4 percent next year.

Eurozone GDP disappointed in the fourth quarter, growing only 0.3 percent quarter-on-quarter. France expanded only 0.1 percent, while Italy stagnated and Greece slipped back into contraction.

The euro was back on its heels Monday, touching an intraday low of 1.1294 US. It would subsequently consolidate at 1.1323 US, declining 0.5 percent.

The euro also declined against the British pound, falling 0.65 percent to 0.7348 GBP.

EUR/USD Weekly Outlook

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Dollar , USD

The euro was trading cautiously on Monday, following a week of uncertainty that ended with Greece securing a short-term loan extension in exchange for further oversight from its creditors and other reforms that squashed Athens’ “anti-austerity” pledge. The attention this week shifts back to the economic data, although the threat of an eventual Greek exit from the Eurozone remains in the background.

The EUR/USD was trading at 1.1368 in the early Asian session, down 0.13 percent. The pair faces initial support at 1.1294 and resistance at 1.1445. The euro advanced slightly against its US counterpart last week, but ended on a sour note following the details of the Greek loan extension. The pair briefly fell below 1.13 on Friday before recovering.

Several batches of high profile data are on the docket this week, headlined by Germany. On Monday the IFO Institute will release the business climate index, a closely followed indicator for economic development in Germany. The business climate index is forecast to rise to 107.7 from 106.7, adding further evidence the German economy was regaining momentum following a midyear slump.

On Tuesday the Federal Statistics Office is expected to confirm Germany’s Q4 GDP growth at 0.7 percent, unchanged from the preliminary estimate. Year-on-year, this translates into an annualized gain of 1.6 percent. Fourth quarter growth more than doubled forecast and was a significant improvement over the third quarter’s 0.1 percent uptick.

Separately, Eurostat will post final Eurozone CPI figures for January. Eurozone consumer prices plunged 0.6 percent annually in January, the sharpest decline since July 2009, Eurostat reported last month in a preliminary estimate.

On Thursday Germany will publish official employment figures for February. The number of workers unemployed is forecast to drop by another 10,000 in February. The unemployment rate is forecast to hold at 6.5 percent.

Separately, Eurostat will release several economic indicators on Thursday, including business confidence, industrial confidence and economic sentiment.

Germany and other Eurozone member states will close out the week with preliminary estimates of February CPI. Germany’s harmonized index of consumer prices declined 0.5 percent in January, the first time in more than five years inflation turned negative for Europe’s largest economy.

Eurozone inflation will probably remain negative in the first half of the year before gradually recovering later on, aggravating concerns about the currency bloc’s nascent recovery. Persistently weak inflation also raises concerns about the ECB’s €1 trillion bond buying program, which has designed to shore up consumer prices and promote economic growth.

The ECB will hold its next monetary policy meetings in early March.

Canadian Dollar Retreats on Declining Energy Prices

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Dollar, USD and American Market

The Canadian dollar declined against its US counterpart on Wednesday, as tumbling energy prices outweighed stronger than forecast growth in Canadian wholesale sales.

The loonie tumbled to 0.8036 US after climbing to a daily high of 0.8089 US on Tuesday. The USDCAD exchange rate advanced 0.6 percent to 1.2445 and is testing initial resistance at 1.2449. On the downside, initial support is likely found at 1.2329.

In economic data, Canadian wholesale trade rebounded sharply in December, led by widespread gains in all sectors. Wholesale sales rose 2.5 percent to $55.4 billion in December, surpassing forecasts calling for a 0.3 percent gain. Wholesale sales had declined 0.3 percent in November.

Six of seven subsectors representing 80 percent of wholesale trade increased in December, led by motor vehicles and parts as well as miscellaneous goods. The motor vehicle industry posted its third consecutive monthly increase, official data showed.

Solid wholesale trade figures weren’t enough to lift the commodity-sensitive loonie after energy prices declined on Wednesday. US crude declined 1.27 percent to $52.85 a barrel. Global benchmark Brent crude dipped 1.55 percent to $61.56 a barrel.

Canada is home to the world’s third-largest known oil reserves and relies heavily on energy exports to fuel its domestic economy. The energy sector accounts for about one-third of Canada’s total export sales. Oil’s seven-month plunge is weighing heavily on the Canadian economy. Alberta, which is home to the country’s oil and gas industry, is expected to sink into a mild recession this year, according to the latest forecast by the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC).

The US dollar was broadly supported on Wednesday, as investors disregarded weaker than forecast housing and industrial production data following news that Greece officially submitted a loan request to its EU paymasters.

The US dollar index, which measures the dollar’s performance against a basket of six currencies, rose 0.3 percent to 94.33.

US housing starts declined 2 percent in January, but remained above the important one-million mark for the fifth month running. Single-family starts eased off six-and-a-half year highs, slipping 6.7 percent to 678,000.

Building permits, a gauge of residential construction intentions, declined 0.7 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual pace of 1.05 million, official data showed.

Separately, US industrial production rose less than forecast in January, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System confirmed today. Industrial production rose 0.2 percent in January after declining 0.3 percent the month before. The capacity utilization rate, which measures how fully companies are using their resources, declined 0.3 percentage points to 79.4 percent.

Bank of England Votes Unanimously to Keeping Interest Rates Low

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Lawmakers at the Bank of England voted unanimously to keep interest rates at a record low at this month’s policy meetings, although signs of division re-emerged about the outlook on monetary policy.

The BOE voted 9-0 in favour of keeping interest rates at a record-low of 0.5 percent and the size of the asset purchase facility at £375 billion, the minutes of the February 4-5 Committee policy meetings revealed today.

“In the light of that aim, and the Committee’s latest set of economic projections, all Committee members agreed that it was appropriate to leave the stance of monetary policy unchanged at this meeting,” the minutes revealed. “Given the outlook for inflation beyond the short term, there could well be a case for an increase in Bank Rate later this year.”

Although policymakers did not rule out a rate increase this year, one member did indicate that the Bank’s next move could be to loosen monetary policy rather than tighten it. Those sentiments were reflected last week after the BOE raised the possibility of cutting interest rates in light of plunging inflation.

BOE Governor Mark Carney expects inflation to fall below zero in the short term before rebounding in the next two years. Britain’s annual inflation rate fell to 0.3 percent in January, the lowest level since record keeping began in 1989, stemming from lower gasoline and food prices. This is a welcome sign for cash-strapped consumers, who have struggled with stubbornly low earnings growth for much of the recovery.

Signs of wage growth have reappeared in recent months. Average earnings including bonus rose 2.1 percent annually in the three months through December, outstripping inflation by the widest margin since 2008, the Office for National Statistics reported today. Economists forecast an increase of 1.7 percent after wage growth averaged 1.8 percent in the three months through November.

Excluding bonuses, average earnings rose 1.7 percent annually between October and December, slightly below November’s 1.7 percent pace.

The UK labour market continued to improve at the end of last year, with the unemployment rate falling from 5.8 percent to 5.7 percent in the three months through December. Jobless benefits, which are a narrower measure of unemployment, declined by 38,600 to 823,000 in January, compared to a median estimate calling for a 25,000 drop.

The BOE expects unemployment to fall further over the forecast period, as the labour market gradually returns to full capacity.

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Unlock Your Potential: The Ultimate Guide to Skill Development

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Unlock Your Potential: The Ultimate Guide to Skill Development offers expert advice to help you reach your full potential