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OctaFX -Champion Demo Contest started! Dear traders! We are happy to announce that Round 1 of OctaFX Champion Demo Contest has officially started today! From now on, over 500 strongest traders of the world will be competing for the amazing prizes of this contest, namely: 1st prize gets 500 USD 2st prize gets 300 USD 3st prize gets 100 USD The last place gets another 100 USD The results and winners will be announced after May 26, 2012 00:00 (GMT+2). OctaFX would like to sincerely wish good luck to everyone and let the strongest win his/her prize with OctaFX!

OctaFx - Happy Weekend from OctAFX

Only 3 days left till OctaFX Champion Demo Contest start! Dear traders! In just 3 days OctaFX Champion Demo Contest will be officially started! You still have a unique opportunity to take part in this outstanding demo contest! Be the first to win and get amazing prizes from OctaFX! 1st prize gets 500 USD 2nd prize gets 300 USD 3rd prize gets 100 USD The last place gets another 100 USD Next round registration: Mar 27, 2012 00:00 - Apr 30, 2012 00:00 (GMT+2) Next round duration: Apr 30, 2012 00:00 - May 26, 2012 00:00 (GMT+2) Register in the contest, trade your demo account like a champion, win and get amazing prizes! Any possible trading techniques are welcome, whether EAs, scalping, hedging, or whatever you want to use! Be a winner and the total prize fund of 1000 USD monthly can become yours! Good luck everyone and let the strongest win the contest! Register now and become OctaFX Champion!

About OctaFX ECN Trading What is ECN/STP trading? It is a broker's business model (which, generally, creates the difference between brokers and "market makers"), in which clients' orders are sent directly to one or several liquidity providers to be executed on their end. There may be an unlimited number of liquidity providers (that is, banks, aggregators, other financial institutions). The more liquidity providers a broker has, the better is the execution for its clients (more liquidity available, less slippage). What makes a true STP broker — is that it doesn't internalize the orders, but sends them to liquidity providers, acting as an intermediary between the client and the real market. Do you have requotes? No, we don't. Any broker who re-quotes your orders is definitely a dealing desk broker. A requote occurs whenever dealer on the other side of the trade sets an execution delay during which the price changes. Therefore he can't open your order and sends you a message that the price had changed. That is, a requote. You usually get a new price which can be significantly different from the one you requested (especially when the market is volatile). In most cases it's not profitable for the trader but quite profitable for the broker. OctaFX doesn't have any requotes simply because we don't have a dealing desk whether human or automatic . Can I scalp? Do you allow news trading? Yes, you can. Unlike the majority of brokers out there who either directly prohibit scalping or indirectly prevent scalpers from trading, we welcome scalpers. By this point, you are certainly wondering why. Dealing desk brokers hold the other side of your trades. That is, they expect the market to go in the opposite direction and you lose. Scalpers use very short orders, which means they stay in the market for a very short period of time, during which the market doesn't change its course. The other problem for a dealing desk is that scalpers generate a huge number or requests at the same time (let's say during important news releases) which makes it hard for a dealing desk to handle them. OctaFX passes all the trades to its liquidity provider and just receives its commission. Therefore we are interested in high volumes (the higher the volume — the higher is our commission we get), which are usually generated by scalpers. How do I find out if my broker is a dealing desk? There are a number of rules and regulations usually applied by dealing desks, such as: A direct or indirect prohibition of scalping, news trading, other strategies Fixed spread So-called "guaranteed" stop orders A possibility of requotes If you meet any of these, your broker most certainly is a dealing desk. Dealing desks (or, so truly referred to as "market makers") in fact create their own markets for you with their own rules (described above). Needless to say these rules do not serve you; they are designed BY their creators and FOR their creators. NDD brokers such as OctaFX act as intermediaries between the trader and the real market, and receive strictly defined and transparent commission for it. How do dealing desks earn? In general, they do not offset your orders anywhere, rather they keep them inside. What you see in the charts is market maker's prices which may resemble the real ones, but in fact they are made up by the broker. So in this case, if you buy, let's say, EURUSD at a certain price, the broker opens your order, but doesn't offset it, because he assumes EURUSD will go down. If it does, you lose your deposit, and broker takes it. Alternatively, if you win, the broker has to pay you with his own money. Of course any market maker will do everything to prevent you from winning. Whether legal or illegal, anything goes when it's about the money. That's where you will face requotes, spikes and so on. How does OctaFX make money? Octafx needs profitable traders? WHY? OctaFX receives a certain commission from its liquidity providers for each transaction. We add it as a markup to spreads you see in the charts . We receive our liquidity from a wide range of liquidity providers around the world. Our system is designed to offer the best prices available at each moment to the clients. When you open a new order, you get the best available bid (or ask) price directly from the liquidity providers with our commission already included into it. Therefore we are interested that you trade more. And the best way to do so is to profit, not lose. This means we are interested that your trading goes as profitable as possible. You have no requotes. WHY? Putting it simply, we don't requote you because we have nothing to do with the quotes (i.e. the prices you see in your trading software). The order is filled when a price from one of our liquidity providers is available. It is important to understand, however, that we do not guarantee that your order will be filled exactly at the requested price; our system is setup to fill it by the next best price from another liquidity provider. But, again, your order will not be requoted, since we are more than interested in your profitable trading. Can liquidity providers see my orders? No, they can't. From their point of view they see only one customer, that is, OctaFX. You remain anonymous to them in all cases. The chart went through my limit, but my order wasn't opened. What's going on? It is a possible situation and it usually happens due to lack of liquidity at a certain period of time. Let's say a number of clients put sell limit orders prior to important news release with total volume of 1000 lots. When the news is released, it makes the market go up 50+ pips. So the chart hits the price of all these orders and it is requested to open a number of orders worth 1000 lots in total. It may happen that only 200 lots are available at the time from the liquidity providers at this price at this given time. In this case the first 200 lots out of 1000 will be filled, while the rest 800 will not be filled (no available liquidity) and will remain waiting until the price hits their level again. Do you allow EAs? Absolutely. Any EAs are welcomed. Which spread is better, fixed or variable? Variable is better because it is real. In the interbank market there is no such thing as fixed spread. Whenever a bank or any other financial institution wants to buy or sell currency, it sets required bid or ask. That is, the price they want at the moment. In real world the difference between Bid and Ask simply can't be fixed. So every dealing desk broker offering fixed spreads has to manipulate prices to make spread fixed. In most cases these manipulations are against the trader. Let's take your broker has 2 pips fixed spread on EURUSD. During daytime the spread is usually about 1 or 1.2 pips. That means you lose 0.8 pips in each single trade, and your dealing desk broker is happy. On the other hand, the very same EURUSD spread can widen to 5-6 pips during important news releases (like NFP). If your broker wants to keep 2 pips fixed spreads, it will either pay 4 pips difference for you or requote you, because it doesn't want to pay. Most probably a requote will happen since dealing desk doesn't want to lose 4 pips. What is slippage and why does it happen? Slippage is a slight order opening price movement which is a result of the lack of liquidity (when it's already taken by other traders' orders). It may also happen during market gaps. It is important to understand that we do not guarantee that your order will be filled exactly at the requested price; our system is setup to fill it by the next best price from another liquidity provider. So during these news times it's possible that there will be no liquidity available at the price you requested. Let's say you want to open 5 lots Buy order, EUR/USD, price is 1.30000. Now, in this case we can see the following liquidity available: Provider 1: price is 1.30010, 20 lots available Provider 2: price is 1.30005, 5 lots available Provider 3: price is 1.30000, 1 lot available In this case your order will be offset with Provider 2, since he has the best price and enough liquidity to fill your order. And the open price will be 1.30050, which is 0.5. pips away from the price you requested. But, again, your order will not be requoted, since we are more than interested in your profitable trading. Why don't you guarantee stop orders? Again, in real market there is no such thing as "guaranteed stop", it is offered by dealing desks only. As stated above, market makers do not offset your orders anywhere, rather they keep them inside. So when your "guaranteed" stop loss is triggered, it means that your whole loss amount is already in the dealer's pocket. In real market any stop order is considered as pending until its price is hit. After that the order is offset to a liquidity provider (which, again, may or may not involve slippage depending on the available liquidity). Therefore it's simply impossible to either "guarantee" or "hunt" your stop orders. ONLY 5 DAYS LEFT REGISTER NOW

OctaFx - Australian Dollar Sold as CPI Data Confirms Expectations of RBA Rate Cut Australian dollars flooded the market as traders unloaded positions in the currency in the face of disappointing CPI data which lent credence to beliefs that the RBA would cut its key interest rate next meeting. THE TAKEAWAY: 1Q Australian CPI Rose 0.1% QoQ and 1.6% YoY > Price Increase Fell Short of Analyst Estimates, Sending Traders Scurrying Away from the Aussie Dollar > AUDUSD Dropped Data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed that the nation’s prices rose 0.1 percent in the first quarter of 2012 and rose 1.6 percent since the same time last year. Today’s numbers surprised traders who were anticipating larger figures. Markets expected the quarterly consumer price index (CPI) to rise 0.6 percent and the annual CPI, 2.2 percent. Before the release, markets priced in a 94 percent probability that the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) would cut its key interest rate by 25 basis points to 4.00 percent. During its April meeting, the RBA noted that monetary policy easing would be possible in the face of moderating inflation, but that it would be “prudent to evaluate [price] data before considering a further policy adjustment.” In light of today’s CPI release and yesterday’s producer price index (PPI) falling short of expectations, an interest rate cut at the next RBA meeting appears very likely. In the minutes following the release, AUDUSD dropped from 1.0317 to as low as 1.0255. Apr 20, 2012 14:09 OctaFX.Com News Updates

Real-time Live Quotes from OctaFX the current live quotes from OctaFX. All the quotes are updated in real-time. Please feel free to use them in educational and informational purposes. to see live quotes from OctaFX please visit http://www.octafx.com/markets/quotes/ or click here * 1 point (pip) is calculated as: For 5-digit pricing currency pairs - by 4th digit (0.0001); For 3-digit pricing currency pairs - by 2nd digit (0.01).

OctaFx - Happy Weekend from OctAFX

OctaFx - Germany sees upswing amid eurozone turmoil Ifo index of business optimism indicates Germany economy is picking up speed after slow period FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) -- A key index of business optimism on Friday reinforced what an increasing number of economists are saying: Germany is beginning to see an upswing — even as the rest of the 17-country eurozone struggles with economic and financial turmoil over too much debt. The Ifo institute survey of business executives published Friday edged up to 109.9 points from 109.8 the month before, beating market expectations of a slight decline. That follows an unexpected fifth straight monthly rise Wednesday in the ZEW index, which measures the outlook among investment professionals. Both are leading indicators, suggesting where the economy might be headed in the next six months. Economists say these and other data mean Germany may now have avoided a recession and this year will easily outpacing the eurozone as a whole, which is expected to shrink 0.3 percent this year. Leading economic institutes this week raised their forecast for 2012 to 0.9 percent from a 0.8 percent prediction last fall, and predicted 2 percent growth next year. Some economists now think the economy grew in the first quarter as well, avoiding a second straight quarter of contraction after a slight 0.2 dip in the fourth quarter of last year. Two quarters of falling output is a technical definition of recession. Both parts of the Ifo index — estimates of current conditions and expectations for the next six months — were up. Sentiment rose among both industrial firms, which are often oriented toward exports in Germany, and retailers, which depend on domestic demand. Economists say Germany's low unemployment rate of 5.7 percent is giving workers the confidence they need to spend money in stores. "The German economy is showing itself to be resilient," said Ifo institute head Hans-Werner Sinn. Germany is motoring ahead even as fears worsen about the eurozone debt crisis. Spain and Italy are seeing higher costs to borrow money on bond markets and roll over their debt loads, while their economic growth is sagging. Their troubles — which could mean big losses for shaky banks if governments can't pay — hold out a threat to the European and global economies. High borrowing costs and fears of default have already pushed Greece, Ireland and Portugal to seek bailout loans from other eurozone countries. Greece additionally had to ask creditors to write down €107 billion in debt that it could not pay. Germany is reaping the benefits of efforts begun in the early 2000s to cut labor costs for businesses — a reform effort that has now been taken up by Spain and Italy but which may need years to bring them higher growth. It is benefiting from its traditional strengths as an exporter of cars and machinery, and growth has been boosted by the recovery in the United States and strong growth in emerging markets such as China. Ironically, in some ways the debt crisis has given Germany some help. Because of the country's reputation for stability, investors are willing to buy its bonds as safe places to put their money. That means rock-bottom borrowing costs for the government, in contrast to the heavy risk premiums paid by Italy and Spain to borrow — costs that threaten to undermine their budgets and create a self-fulfilling default spiral. A two-year bond sold Wednesday cost the German treasury only 0.14 percent interest yield, and a 10-year bond issue from April 11 yielded only 1.77 percent. With inflation at 2.3 percent, Germany's creditors are accepting no return on their lending or even paying for the privilege of lending it money. Rates are also low because the European Central Bank has reduced its benchmark to a lowest-ever 1 percent. German economists say those rock-bottom rates are helping lower borrowing costs for companies as well, spurring business investment that is helping fuel the recovery. Additionally, the crisis has kept the euro's exchange rate weaker than it otherwise would be, boosting exports. The eight economic institutes who produce a twice-yearly forecast for the government says that means German goods are cheaper in foreign markets than they have been for 30 years. The institutes warned however against complacency. They say their economy remains threatened by any wider disaster in the eurozone because 43 percent of its exports go to other eurozone countries — and 20 percent to the five crisis-hit countries, Spain, Italy, Greece, Ireland and Portugal. That means a substantial 12.3 percent of Germany's economy is based on trade with the eurozone — suggesting that a financial disaster among neighbors could easily spoil Germany's improving mood. Apr 20, 2012 14:09 OctaFX.Com News Updates

OctaFX.Com -EUR/USD Classical Technical Report 04.20 EUR/USD: The latest round of setbacks have stalled ahead of some key multi-week support by 1.3000 and from here we still can not rule out risks for additional consolidation above 1.3000, before considering bearish resumption. Ultimately, any rallies towards 1.3300 should be well capped, while a break and daily close back under 1.3000 would accelerate declines to the early 2012 lows at 1.2660. Apr 20, 2012 06:51 OctaFX.Com News Updates

OctaFx -AUD/USD Classical Technical Report 04.20 AUD/USD: Our bearish outlook in this market is being reaffirmed with the latest pullback from the mid-1.0400’s and we continue to project deeper setbacks over the coming days and weeks back below parity. A fresh lower top now looks to be carving by 1.0465 but only back above 1.0640 would delay and give reason for concern. From here, look for a break and close back below 1.0300 to open the next downside extension towards 1.0000 over the coming sessions. Apr 20, 2012 06:44 OctaFX.Com News Updates

OctaFX.Com -EUR/USD Classical Technical Report 04.19 EUR/USD: The latest round of setbacks have stalled ahead of some key multi-week support by 1.3000 and from here we still can not rule out risks for additional consolidation above 1.3000, before considering bearish resumption. Ultimately, any rallies towards 1.3300 should be well capped, while a break and daily close back under 1.3000 would accelerate declines to the early 2012 lows at 1.2660. Apr 19, 2012 06:26 OctaFX.Com News Updates

OctaFx -Euro falls for 3rd day on nagging funding worries NEW YORK (Reuters) - The euro fell for a third straight session against the U.S. dollar on Thursday despite a decent Spanish bond sale as investors remained skeptical about funding issues in the euro zone. The euro also tracked the rise in credit default swaps and the widening of yield spreads between the safe-haven German bunds and peripheral fixed income debt, suggesting growing nervousness about liquidity in the financial system and sustainability of the region's debt. "This is all emblematic of the fact that the market remains very nervous about the state of credit in the euro zone," said Boris Schlossberg, director of FX research at GFT Forex in Jersey City. "Despite the fact that we had a decent Spanish bond auction, there is just basic skepticism not only about the sovereign debt market but also the health of the overall banking system, particularly in Spain." Spain's Treasury issued 2.5 billion euros in two- and 10-year bonds, at the top end of the targeted amount. Yields on the key 10-year bond were higher, however, reflecting fears that Spain may miss budget deficit targets and about its banking sector. The euro dropped 0.2 percent to $1.3087 after hitting a session low of $1.3068, reversing gains that took the single currency to $1.3164 following the Spanish auction. Traders said they were inclined to sell into any euro rallies, with the rise in Spanish and Italian yields undermining any optimism from the auction. Market talk of a French downgrade also undermined sentiment towards the common currency. The euro also modestly sold off after a report showed that U.S. initial jobless claims were weaker than expected, which slightly dampened risk appetite. The euro held above strong chart support at $1.30. But an escalation of concerns about Spain's high level of debt, at a time when the economy is faltering, would put the euro back under pressure, potentially taking it towards the 2012 low of $1.2624. "The market has come to realize that positive bond auctions are not Spain's salvation," said Neil Mellor, currency strategist at Bank of New York Mellon, adding it was only a matter of time before the euro broke below $1.30. "There are too many negative elements in the euro zone. If $1.30 breaks, we have only got minor levels of support until the January lows. We cannot preclude a sudden move lower." Many in the market said the euro would head lower in the medium term given the risks that budget and debt problems in Spain will worsen and uncertainty over the outcome of the French presidential election, which polls suggest will result in a leadership change. Traders cited talk of hedge funds betting the euro will fall to $1.25 soon after the French poll concludes early next month. The safe-haven Japanese yen, meanwhile, fell, as equities gained and after Bank of Japan Governor Masaaki Shirakawa stressed the central bank's commitment to powerful monetary easing. The dollar rose 0.3 percent to 81.510 yen, triggering reported stop loss buy orders around 81.60 yen, with traders earlier citing flows related to the launch of a large investment trust by a Japanese investment bank. The euro was up 0.1 percent at 106.79 yen, although resistance came in around its 50-day moving average at 107.44 yen. The higher-yielding Australian dollar was steady against the U.S. dollar at US$1.0356. Apr 19, 2012 10:53 OctaFX.Com News Updates

OctaFX Champion contest Next round: Registration opened only 11 days left Register in the contest, trade your demo account like a champion, win and get amazing prizes! Any possible trading techniques are welcome, whether EAs, scalping, hedging, or whatever you want to use! Be a winner and the total prize fund of 1000 USD monthly can become yours! Schedule Next round registration: Mar 27, 2012 22:00 - Apr 30, 2012 00:00 (GMT+2) Next round duration: Apr 30, 2012 00:00 - May 26, 2012 00:00 (GMT+2) ONLY 11 DAYS LEFT REGISTER NOW

OctaFX.Com - Canadian Dollar Surges as Hawkish BoC Raises Rate Hike Expectations Although the key rate was kept on hold at 1.00 percent, an increasingly hawkish Bank of Canada has sent the Canadian Dollar surging early in the North American trading session. The shift in rhetoric has boosted rate hike expectations, improving the yield outlook for the world’s tenth largest economy. The Bank of Canada left key interest rate on hold at 1.00 percent for the thirteenth consecutive meeting today, but the real story lies within the central bank’s statement accompanying the release. The BoC said that higher rates “may become appropriate” in the future as actual economic growth and price pressures have exceeded economists’ forecasts. Governor Mark Carney said that “In light of the reduced slack in the economy and firmer underlying inflation, some modest withdrawal of the present considerable monetary policy stimulus may become appropriate.” Governor Carney went on to say that “The timing and degree of any such withdrawal will be weighed carefully against domestic and global economic developments.” Market participants have taken this as a sign that the BoC will move to raise rates in the coming months, with the Credit Suisse Overnight Index Swaps now showing that 18.0-basis points are being priced in over the next 12-months (from 0.9-bps ahead of the meeting). USDCAD 1-min Chart: April 17, 2012 Charts Created using Marketscope – Prepared by Christopher Vecchio On the more hawkish than expected tone, as market participants have started to price in higher rates in the future, the Canadian Dollar has soared across the board, but most notably against the Euro and the Japanese Yen. The EURCAD has dropped over 95-pips on the rate decision (UPDATE: as of 14:28 GMT, the EURCAD was down over 110-pips post-rate decision). Similarly, the CADJPY jumped over 65-pips (UPDATE: as of 14:28 GMT, the CADJPY was up over 75-pips post-rate decision). The USDCAD also traded lower, falling over 60-pips immediately (UPDATE: as of 14:28 GMT, the USDCAD was down over 70-pips post-rate decision). Apr 17, 2012 14:28 OctaFX.Com News Updates

OctaFX.Com -Spanish bill sale, German ZEW support euro LONDON (Reuters) - The euro rose against the dollar on Tuesday after Spanish bill sales went through smoothly and a survey showed a rise in German analyst and investor sentiment, easing some of the market's concerns over euro zone debt. However, analysts said Spain's precarious fiscal position would remain a worry and the most important test would come with an auction of Spanish 10-year debt on Thursday, which could put the euro back under pressure. Spanish 10-year government bond yields dipped below 6 percent after jumping on Monday on fears its deficit and weak economy may force it to seek international help. Analysts said these concerns would limit the euro's gains with most investors still bearish about the common currency. "We shouldn't read too much into the Spanish bill auction or into the ZEW data - the German Ifo survey (on Friday) and Spanish 10-year auction will be more important," said Gavin Friend, currency strategist at nabCapital. "The target for the euro is $1.32/$1.3225 but I don't see it much above there." He said the euro would face further tests with the G20 and IMF meeting at the end of this week and the first round of the French presidential election on April 22. The euro was last flat on the day at $1.3135, having earlier surpassed Monday's high to hit $1.3173, with traders saying stop-loss buy orders were triggered on the breaks above $1.3150-60. They said a U.S. bank and Swiss investors had bought euros. More gains would see it target the 55-day moving average at $1.3204, with the euro also supported by the German ZEW survey which showed analyst sentiment in Europe's largest economy rising unexpectedly in April to its highest level since June 2010. The common currency hit a low of $1.2995 on Monday before rebounding as investors who had earlier initiated bearish bets reversed those positions. Analysts said the bounce above $1.30 suggested that level was an important support that could be difficult to breach. Once below there, however, traders could focus on a move towards the January low of $1.2624. "I think we'll see a test of $1.30 within the next week," said Niels Christensen, currency strategist at Nordea in Copenhagen, adding concerns about Spain's elevated debt, shrinking economy and high unemployment would keep the euro weak. ANOTHER SPAIN TEST Investors were relieved as Spain sold 3.2 billion euros of 12 and 18-month bills, although at much higher yields compared with a month ago. Thursday will see a far bigger test when Spain sells 10-year and two-year bonds. Compounding Spain's fiscal woes, its banks borrowed a record 316.3 billion euros from the European Central Bank in March, almost double February's total, as they remained all but excluded from wholesale credit markets. The euro was up 0.3 percent at 106.0 yen, recovering from a trough of 104.63 yen on Monday, a level not seen since mid-February. The euro and other riskier currencies could be helped further if U.S. housing data and industrial output for March, due at 8:30 a.m. EDT (1230 GMT) and 1315 GMT come in on the stronger side of expectations. The dollar rose 0.3 percent against the safe-haven yen to 80.64 yen, above a seven-week low of 80.29 hit on Monday. The higher-yielding Australian dollar edged up 0.2 percent at $1.0370 as stock markets recovered. It cut earlier losses after Reserve Bank of Australia policy meeting minutes showed it would consider cutting interest rates in May if data confirmed a benign inflation outlook. Apr 17, 2012 10:52 OctaFX.Com News Updates

OctaFX.Com - Canadian Dollar Soars on Hawkish BoC Comments Currencies and equities are trading slightly higher this morning thanks to better than expected economic data from Europe and a relatively healthy Spanish bond auction. The EUR/USD is taking its cue from Spanish bond yields and the steep decline back below 6 percent encouraged investors to dip their toes back into euros. For the time being the 1.30 level continues to hold in the EUR/USD and even though we believe this level will be taken out eventually, a further rise in Spanish bond yields would be needed for that to happen. Mixed U.S. housing market numbers failed to have a lasting impact on the dollar. Housing starts fell for the second month in a row by 5.8 percent. This was the steepest slide in nearly a year and drove starts to a 5 month low. Building permits on the other hand continued to rise by 4.5 percent. Unlike starts, permits have gradually increased for the past 3 months and are now at its highest level since September 2008. The discrepancy between starts and permits is good news because it represents a tremendous amount of backlog and once the recovery gains momentum, housing starts will rise quickly because permits have already been attained by builders. Meanwhile up North, the Bank of Canada is gearing up for a rate hike. According to the BoC, "removing stimulus may become appropriate." Unlike other parts of the world crippled by high debt levels and slowing growth, Canada has benefitted significantly from the improvement in the U.S. economy and the rise in oil prices. Business and consumer confidence in Canada improved to the point where the BoC felt comfortable enough to raise its 2012 growth forecast to 2.4 from 2 percent and its 2013 forecast from 2.4 to 2.8 percent. Most of Canadian growth is expected to come from domestic demand. Last month, Canada experienced its strongest pace of job growth since 2008 and this improvement in the labor market will translate into stronger consumption. In terms of external factors, the BoC is looking at it from a glass half full point of view - they expect Europe to rise from recession in the second half of the year and they view the U.S. economy has slightly stronger. If not for Europe's troubles, the BoC would have probably raised interest rates today. However don't interpret the BoC comments to mean that a rapid series of consecutive rate hikes will follow. The central bank will raise interest rates gradually to avoid over tightening in what can still be characterized as uncertain global economic conditions. The hawkish comments from the Bank of Canada drove USD/CAD to 0.99 and it should only be a matter of time before USD/CAD slips to a fresh 7 month low. Apr 17, 2012 09:10 OctaFX.Com News Updates

Eurozone March inflation revised up to 2.7 percent Eurozone inflation in March revised up to 2.7 percent; increase was unexpected BRUSSELS (AP) -- Inflation in the 17 countries that use the euro was higher than predicted in March, largely because of higher energy and transport costs, official figures showed Tuesday. Eurostat, the EU's statistics office, said eurozone consumer prices in the year to March rose by 2.7 percent, up from the initial prediction of 2.6 percent. March's rate was the same as the previous month's and indicates that price pressures remain despite mounting fears that the eurozone as a whole will fall back into recession. The surprise increase in inflation has reined in expectations that the European Central Bank will cut interest rates again any time soon. The bank, which is tasked with keeping inflation just below 2 percent, last cut borrowing costs in December, taking its main rate down to the joint-record low of 1 percent. With oil prices remaining elevated, analysts said inflation could well remain above target for a while yet, even though Europe's dim growth prospects could weigh on consumer demand and wage increases. Gustavo Bagattini, European economist at RBC Capital Markets, said he expects inflation to start declining in the second quarter of the year but won't average anything below 2.5 percent. "This is consistent with our 2012 average forecast of 2.4 percent, which is in line with the ECB's forecast, meaning that the governing council will continue to have to accept a higher rate of inflation temporarily," Bagattini said. The euro pushed ahead after the figures from $1.3145 to a day's high of $1.3173. Apr 17, 2012 09:06 OctaFX.Com News Updates

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OctaFX.Com -Euro dips, bonds rise on euro zone worries NEW YORK (Reuters) - The euro hit a three-week low against the dollar and bonds edged higher on Thursday as Spain's debt burden fueled worries about further problems for euro zone economies and curtailed investors' appetite for riskier assets. Global stocks dipped, while energy and gold prices climbed. A poor Spanish bond auction on Wednesday added to worries that the impact of the European Central Bank's one trillion euro injection of cheap three-year funds into the banking system may be coming to an abrupt halt. Spanish 10-year government bond yields rose as high as 5.86 percent on Thursday, dragging Italian rates in their wake as investors fled to the relative safety of German and U.S. debt. The moves follow two days of losses in stocks and other markets following the release Tuesday of minutes from the last Federal Reserve meeting, which suggested the Fed was less keen to launch further economic stimulus. "The whole European situation seems to be reheating ... and there is more safe-haven type buying," said Sean Murphy, a Treasuries trader at Societe Generale in New York. The worries added a safety bid for bonds, with the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note up 13/32, with the yield at 2.1752 percent. Against the dollar, the euro was down 0.7 percent at$1.3052, having hit a three-week low of $1.3038. It also hit its lowest in four weeks against the yen at 106.86 yen before recovering slightly to trade at 107.23 yen, down 1 percent. Spain's cost of borrowing on markets over 10 years jumped 30 basis points on Wednesday after borrowing costs rose at its bond auction. The yield premium over German benchmarks is now 411 basis points, its highest since late November before the ECB flooded the market with three-year funds. STOCKS DIP, COMMODITIES GAIN The MSCI world equity index (.MIWD00000PUS) was last down 0.2 percent, while U.S. stocks were also slightly lower. Traders cautioned that some of the moves may be exaggerated by thin trading ahead of an extended Easter weekend, and while global stock markets lost more than 1 percent of their value on Wednesday, they remain up almost 10 percent this year. The Dow Jones industrial average (DJI:^DJI - News) was down 45.75 points, or 0.35 percent, at 13,029.00. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index (MXP:^GSPC - News) was down 3.54 points, or 0.25 percent, at 1,395.42. The Nasdaq Composite Index (NAS:^COMP) was up 6.84 points, or 0.22 percent, at 3,074.93. For U.S. stocks, offsetting some concern about the euro zone was data showing the number of Americans lining up for new jobless benefits fell to the lowest in nearly four years last week. Analysts said the claims data and a report on private-sector jobs earlier this week may bode well for the U.S. government's widely watched monthly employment report, which is due Friday. The U.S. outlook was in sharp contrast with Europe where separate reports showed German industrial output fell more than expected in February and British factory output suffered its biggest monthly fall in almost a year Spain's IBEX 35 index (MCE:^IBEX - News) touched a 7-month low as concerns mounted about Spain's ability to meet its budget targets, while Europe's FTSEurofirst 300 index (.FTEU3) ended up 0.1 percent. Banking stocks, many of which have large exposure to the region's lower-rated sovereign debt, edged lower. UniCredit (CRDI.MI) and Commerzbank (CBKG.DE), which both have exposure to euro zone peripheral debt, were also hard hit, down 3.1 percent and 1.9 percent respectively. Bucking the softer global trend, non-banking financial sector firms led Chinese shares to their biggest single-day gain since early February, after Premier Wen Jiabao said the monopoly formed by the country's big banks needed to be broken to get money flowing to cash-starved companies. GOLD, ENERGY CLIMB Spot gold was up 0.6 percent at $1,628.34 an ounce. Weaker prices tempted some buyers but gains were capped by a stronger dollar and fading hopes of a fresh round of U.S. stimulus. Market watchers said some hedge funds might have reduced gold holdings due to stronger U.S. economic data and easing of fears about European debt. "A lot of the gold trade by hedge funds was specifically tied to a new round of Fed stimulus," said Jeffrey Sica, chief investment officer of SICA Wealth Management with more than $1 billion in assets. In the other market, U.S. crude was up $1.62 at $103.09 per barrel, while Brent crude was up $1.13 at $123.47. Apr 05, 2012 15:53 OctaFX.Com News Updates

OctaFX.Com - Dollar rises to 3-week high against euro Dollar rises to 3-week high against euro on fears about Europe's debt crisis NEW YORK (AP) -- Growing fears about Europe's debt crisis pushed the dollar to a three-week high against the euro Thursday. The euro also fell against the Swiss franc, dropping below a ceiling set by the Swiss National Bank last year. The yield on Spain's benchmark 10-year bond jumped to 5.74 percent Thursday, its highest point since November. A month ago, the rate was below 4.9 percent. Rising yields are a sign that investors are less confident in the country's finances. The higher the yield on a country's bonds, the more expensive it becomes to borrow money. Greece, Portugal and Ireland needed a bailout after their borrowing rates rose above 7 percent. Concerns about Spain's finances rose this week after weak demand at its bond auction Wednesday. The euro fell to $1.3057 in afternoon trading Thursday from $1.3139 late Wednesday. The euro fell as low as $1.3034, its lowest point since March 15. The Swiss franc briefly rose against the euro Thursday above the 1.20 level that the Swiss National Bank capped it at in September. The Swiss franc is considered a safe-haven currency and tends to rise when traders are worried about the global economy. Last year, the Swiss franc rose so much that the SNB said it would spend whatever it would take to stop the euro from falling below 1.20 francs. On Thursday, it fell to 1.1993 francs before quickly moved recovering. The SNB wants to limit the franc's strength to protect Swiss companies. Last year, exporters were hurt as the value of the franc increased. A strong franc hurts exporters by making their goods more expensive for foreign buyers. In other trading, the dollar rose to 0.9206 Swiss franc from 0.9161 Swiss franc. The British pound fell to $1.5820 from $1.5889. The dollar fell to 82.35 Japanese yen from 82.58 yen and to 99.37 Canadian cents from 99.64 Canadian cents. Apr 05, 2012 15:46 OctaFX.Com News Updates

OctaFX.Com - The Basics Of Currency Trading The investment markets can quickly take the money of investors who believe that trading is easy. Trading in any investment market is exceedingly difficult, but success first comes with education and practice. So, what is currency trading and is it right for you? SEE: Top 7 Questions About Currency Trading Answered. The currency market, or forex (FX), is the largest investment market in the world. Each day, it accounts for roughly $1.5 trillion of daily trading compared to only $25 billion of daily volume on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). The market may be large, but until recently the volume came from professional traders, but as currency trading platforms have improved more retail traders have found forex to be suitable for their investment goals. How Does It Work? Currency trading is a 24-hour market that is only closed from Friday evening to Sunday evening, but the 24-hour trading sessions are misleading. There are three sessions that include the European, Asian and United States trading sessions. Although there is some overlap in the sessions, the main currencies in each market are traded mostly during those market hours. This means that certain currency pairs will have more volume during certain sessions. Traders who stay with pairs based on the dollar will find the most volume in the U.S. trading session. Currency is traded in various sized lots. The micro lot is 1,000 units of a currency. If your account is funded in U.S. dollars, a micro lot represents $1,000 of your base currency, the dollar. A mini lot is 10,000 units of your base currency and a standard lot is 100,000 units. Pairs and Pips All currency trading is done in pairs. Unlike the stock market, where you can buy or sell a single stock, you have to buy one currency and sell another currency in the forex market. Next, nearly all currencies are priced out to the fourth decimal point. A pip or percentage in point, is the smallest increment of trade. One pip typically equals 1/100 of 1%. Retail or beginning traders often trade currency in micro lots, because one pip in a micro lot represents only a 10 cents move in the price. This makes losses easier to manage if a trade doesn't produce the intended results. In a mini lot, one pip equals $1 and that same one pip in a standard lot equals $10. Some currencies move as much as 100 pips or more in a single trading session making the potential losses to the small investor much more manageable by trading in micro or mini lots. Far Less Products The majority of the volume in currency trading is confined to only 18 currency pairs compared to the thousands of stocks that are available in the global equity markets. Although there are other traded pairs outside of the 18, the eight currencies most often traded are the U.S. dollar (USD), Canadian dollar (CAD), euro (EUR), British pound (GBP), Swiss franc (CHF), New Zealand dollar (NZD), Australian dollar (AUD) and the Japanese yen (JPY). Although nobody would say that currency trading is easy, having far less trading options makes trade and portfolio management an easier task. What Moves Currency? An increasing amount of stock traders are taking interest in the currency markets because many of the forces that move the stock market also move the currency market. One of the largest is supply and demand. When the world needs more dollars, the value of the dollar increases and when there are too many circulating, the price drops. Other factors like interest rates, new economic data from the largest countries and geopolitical tensions, are just a few of the events that may affect currency prices. The Bottom Line Much like anything in the investing market, learning about currency trading is easy but finding the winning trading strategies takes a lot of practice. Most forex brokers will allow you to open a free virtual account that allows you to trade with virtual money until you find strategies that work for you. Apr 05, 2012 15:43 OctaFX.Com News Updates

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OctaFX.Com -Dollar rises against euro ahead of Fed minutes Dollar rises against euro as traders await Federal Reserve minutes of March meeting NEW YORK (AP) -- The dollar is rising against the euro before the release of the Federal Reserve's minutes from its March meeting.Traders are waiting to see whether the Fed is optimistic about the economy. The Fed said in a statement after the meeting that it expects the job market to improve. The statement boosted the dollar. But last week, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke warned that the job market is still weak, pushing the dollar lower against the euro. Traders had interpreted the comments to mean that the Fed will keep short-term interest rates near zero. Lower interest rates tend to weigh on a currency by reducing the returns investors get from holding it. Apr 03, 2012 16:43 OctaFX.Com News Updates

OctaFX.Com -Dollar dips versus euro ahead of Fed minutes, ECB NEW YORK (Reuters) - The dollar slipped against the euro ahead of the release of U.S. Federal Reserve meeting minutes on Tuesday, though investors were reluctant to make big bets a day ahead of the European Central Bank meeting. At least for the next few hours, the market focus in pre-Easter trade remains the Fed's meeting minutes from March which may provide clues on U.S. policymakers' inclination to take further steps to ease policy, which would weigh on the dollar. For now, the minutes are expected to suggest a standby approach, with the Fed likely to warn that premature tightening would be risky, while keeping an open-minded, but uncommitted view on further easing. Fed officials on Monday signaled little appetite for further monetary steps to stimulate U.S. growth in an economy that is gradually strengthening. However, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke said last week that more stimulus would remain an option. The ECB policy meeting is on Wednesday with analysts saying a hawkish message from the bank on the need to get back to concentrating on quelling inflation instead of helping Europe's economy and financial system out of crisis may give the euro a brief boost. "We get a peek at the Fed minutes but (are) not expecting any surprises there," said John Doyle, currency strategist at Tempus Consulting in Washington. "After that we are holding for the Europeans." The euro was last trading up 0.1 percent at $1.3337, with the session low at $1.3298 and the session peak at $1.3367. Analysts said the gains in the shared currency came after investors failed to push the unit below $1.3300 and hold it there, forcing anyone betting against the euro to step back in to buy to prevent further losses. ON HOLD To be sure, many investors are still looking to sell the euro as concerns grew about a fragile outlook for the euro zone and high debt levels in Spain. Italian and Spanish debt yields rose on Tuesday amid concerns about the euro zone's ability to keep budget deficits under control. Spain's public debt ratio is expected to hit 79.8 percent of gross domestic product in 2012, a document detailing the country's 2012 budget showed on Tuesday. Since the euro's mid- to late-March rally from $1.3000 to just below $1.34 fizzled out, the currency has stayed in a relatively tight $1.3250-$1.3400 range. Many analysts expect it to move lower if it breaks below that area. The euro was last little changed against the Swiss franc at 1.2031 francs, but still near a two-month low as traders pushed the shared currency closer to the 1.20 franc floor set by the Swiss National Bank last year. YEN SWINGS Against the yen, the dollar was last up 0.1 percent at 82.18 yen, recovering from a drop to a low at 81.54 yen, its weakest since March 9. Analysts said the broader trend for the yen to weaken remains intact following the Bank of Japan's unexpected easing of monetary policy in February. Speculation that the Fed could tighten its own policy faster than previously expected - and raise the return for holding dollars - have also weighed on the Japanese currency. "People have been buying into the idea that the yen could weaken and perhaps we have seen the strongest period for the yen," said Dag Muller, technical analyst at SEB in Stockholm. "But in the near term, the yen could succumb to more of a correction from short-term exaggerated levels." The Australian dollar was down 0.4 percent at US$1.0366, cutting earlier gains, after the Reserve Bank of Australia kept interest rates unchanged at 4.25 percent and suggested a bias toward easing. Apr 03, 2012 16:19 OctaFX.Com News Updates