Beijing announced a deal that surprised the finance community, and it didn’t involve commodities or the domestic currency. Is it only the beginning for China.

With absolutely no economic data on the schedule, the US dollar showed unabashed strength throughout the day against the majors as indications emerged late last week that consumer confidence remained high and growth in the manufacturing sector was healthy.

If you were just watching the price of crude rather than the price of retail gasoline, you may have never been able to tell that US consumers are facing some serious pain, which could be reflected in tomorrow’s retail sales figure. A weak number could put a dent into the latest dollar rally.

With the Federal Reserve monetary policy meeting scheduled for tomorrow, currency traders are either buying up dollars against the euro and British pound or squaring up shorts ahead of the rate decision.

For the past few months, the stability of the labor market has pacified the markets concern about the housing market because as long as people have jobs, they will continue to pay their mortgages.

With European markets closed for May Day and Japanese traders out for Golden Week, most of the action in the foreign exchange market was concentrated in the US trading session.

In the foreign exchange market, there are times when politics can trump economics. Even though we did not have any breaking developments, the lack of meaningful US economic data turned the market’s focus today to the potential for political change.

Despite strong corporate earnings and the rally in the stock market, the US economy may still be in trouble.

With no significant data on the US calendar, there is nothing preventing traders from selling US dollars.

The G7 meeting is on everyone's minds as finance ministers and central bankers of the Group of Seven convene in Washington. The volatility in the currency market reflects speculation on whether the Japanese yen will come under official criticism at the meeting.