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The U.S. dollar gained in the forex market before the weekend, as it was reported that employment decreased in the country. Employers hired at a pace much faster than economists had expected, making demand for the U.S. dollar increase.

The U.S. currency fell earlier this week when speculations grew that the Federal Reserve would be forced to implement more quantitative easing in order to stimulate the economy. Reports published on Friday reversed these rumours, as it looks like the U.S. economy is healthy. The U.S. dollar was reaching a record low against the Japanese yen before this news was reported. Apart from the positive U.S. news, investors were speculating that the Japanese Central Bank would be forced o intervene in the forex market in order to control the appreciation of their currency. Both these reports together made the U.S. dollar advance 50 basis points, 0.5 percent, against the Japanese yen.

Greek officials announced that negotiations in the country between the government and creditors finally are progressing, after weeks of delay. The news are positive for the European Union, as the Greek problem is one of the most pressing issues at the moment. As a result of the statement, the euro gained against the U.S. dollar and other currencies traded in the forex market.

Apart from the Greek announcement, European officials managed to come to other terms during last nights meeting in Brussels. One of the main factors was an agreement to invest funds in the region’s crisis fund at a faster pace in order to fight the debt crisis more quickly.

The euro appreciated 40 basis points against the U.S. dollar and 30 basis points against the yen. That means that the euro is at a net loss of 0.2 percent against the U.S. dollar since yesterday.

This week has been tough for both the U.S. dollar and Japanese yen, mainly due to the safety of these currencies. During volatile times, when markets are full of uncertainties or have negative outlooks, investors tend to look at both the United States and Japan as safe havens.

The week started of with the U.S. reporting new numbers from their economy, all of which pointed to a positive future and that a recovery period is ahead. Markets reacted by increasing the appetite for risk; making stocks, commodities and other currencies appreciate. As a result, the demand for U.S. dollars and Japanese yen decreased, making them both depreciate.

Today, it was reported that Greece are having trouble coming to terms with their creditors, increasing the demand for safer currencies, as the European region still looks uncertain. Despite this small comeback for the U.S. dollar and Japanese yen, there were also other news reported that Europe in fact is doing better, mainly because both France and Spain managed to raise capital without any effort. As a result, both the U.S. and Japanese currency are still headed for weekly losses.

The Russian ruble, much like the euro, has been gaining a lot in the forex market lately. The Russian currency is on its third day of appreciation against the U.S. dollar, one day more than the euro.

The ruble appreciated 50 basis points against the U.S. dollar during today’s trading session. This is the highest point traded in over two weeks. One reason behind the gains made today is that the Russian government are expecting somewhere around 10 billion U.S. dollars in taxes from corporations doing business abroad. This is the period when companies have to present revenue made abroad in Russian rubles, which statistically is a big payday for the country.

Furthermore, banks who have lent money from the Russian government are expected to pay back over 170 billion U.S. dollars in the coming weeks, which also provides liquidity to the country. These capital inflows create a higher demand for the ruble, making its value appreciate.

A lot of currencies labelled as unstable or risky have experienced a lot of ups and downs lately in the forex market. The U.S. has been showing solid numbers for a while now, which have caused a rally in both global stocks and a lot of currencies. At the same time, the European debt crisis has been dragging down the very same assets constantly the past few months.

Today, the European crisis was once again the cause of large falls in several currencies, mainly the Australian dollar and New Zealand dollar. Both these currencies have been appreciating the past two days, but that came to an end today. Once again, rating agencies announced that they are very close to downgrade several economies in the European region due to inadequate measures and uncertain futures.

The Australian dollar fell 50 basis points against the U.S. dollar, after coming back from a full percent depreciation. The currency also depreciated 30 basis points against the Japanese yen. The New Zealand dollar did better as it fell 30 basis points against the U.S. dollar and remained stable against the yen.

Yesterday, several Asian currencies gained in the forex market as a result of a strong U.S. economy. Signals that unemployment is decreasing in the United States made both Asian stocks and Asian currencies rally. Today, the problems of the European debt crisis are dragging Asian markets down.

Rating agencies reported that a lot of European countries still are eligible for lower credit ratings, especially Italy who supposedly is dangerously close to a downgrade. The bad news outweighed good news, making Asian currencies fall against several other major currencies.

The main losers in today’s market were the South Korean Won and Malaysian ringgit, which both fell 20 basis points against the U.S. dollar. The Indian rupee slumped over 70 basis points during yesterday’s trading session.

The U.S. dollar reached a 30-day low point against the euro as the U.S. economy shows signs of expansion. It is mainly manufacturing and the service sector that has lifted global stock markets and several currencies in the stock market lately. Recent reports have shown that these sectors have grown more than economists’ estimates, which sent positive vibes throughout global financial markets.

The U.S. dollar depreciated almost a full percentage against the euro and around 20 basis points against the Japanese yen.  Meanwhile, the euro gained against the Japanese currency as well as manufacturing news from both China and India further boosted demand for higher yielding assets. The positive news from the U.S. is expected to cause a domino effect that will further boost service and manufacturing numbers. As confidence grows, so does demand in these sectors.

Other currencies gaining against the U.S. dollar were the South Korean won, Mexican peso and Brazilian real, the latter being the largest gainer than any other currency. The Mexican currency appreciated 2 full percentages while the Brazilian currency reached a 2.2 percent appreciation.

U.S. farming figures are looking stronger than they did three months ago according to official reports from the U.S. Currently, farmers are optimistic about the future of the industry and projected profits and growth.

Overall, confidence is up 9.8 percent since April and 2.1 percent since September, showing steadily growing numbers. More confidence will result in more demand from the farmers, thus stimulating economic activity in the U.S. region. Higher prices for livestock, more exports and a positive outlook have led to an increase of over 25% in income for the farming sector.

Although current outlook seems good for the U.S. economy, analysts have pointed out that the farming sector is closely linked to economic growth in the country and that lower demand in the economy will result in lower demand for the farmers as well.

The South African rand is on its third consecutive day of appreciation against the U.S. dollar. The currency has been one of the poorest performers of the forex market this year with very large falls against the most traded currencies in the world.

The rand experienced a volatile day, with gains reaching over 1 percent at a certain point. Overall, the final appreciation against the U.S. dollar seems to be around 0.3 percent. The reason behind the latest trend is that analysts are saying that the South African currency now is undervalued due to too much depreciation earlier this year.

South Africa has witnessed large sale volumes of rand-held assets, which now might be proving to be too large. Some investors are currently betting that the rand will keep appreciate a bit more until it hits a fair level against the U.S. dollar.

China has had a stronghold on its currency for a long time. Recently, news has been reported that the Chinese government is allowing the scenario of a strengthening yuan. The country intends to keep investor demand in the region and make sure that capital outflows do not take place.

This recent event made the Chinese currency appreciate 0.4 percent against the U.S. dollar. Just before, the currency gained 0.7 percent, which is the highest level reached in around 18 years. Although a stronger currency will keep investor interest, it might harm exports. The Chinese minister of commerce recently stated that exports are predicted to slow down compared to 2011.

The Chinese governments keeps a reference rate between the country’s currency and the U.S. dollar and they are now letting trades take place with a 0.5 percent margin, meaning that the price can shift by 1 percent in total.