Portfolio Performance : +8.08%

Headline News

1. Treasury Under Secretary for International Affairs David McCormick said that the effects of speculation or currency depreciation on oil prices are "relatively minor in comparison" to supply and demand fundamentals that have been building for more than a decade
2. Spain permits issued for building new houses fall 57% in the year to May from a year earlier, according to the College of Architects
3. Rio Tinto, the world's third largest miner said that it will spend $2.15 billion on expanding its Corumba iron ore mine in Brazil
4. Japan June industrial output down 2% from May
5. Australia's housing industry looks set to weaken further as building approvals declined another 0.7% in June, approvals are now 7.8% lower from a year earlier
6. Japan's auto makers rose 4.5% to 1.03 million vehicles from a year earlier
7. Germany's June new machinery falls 5% year on year
8. Euro Zone Economic Sentiment Indicator 89.5 vs 94.8 in June
9. The number of three to five star hotels and resorts in Vietnam shot up by almost half in 3 years.
10. US ADP Private Payrolls was higher by 9000, vs market expectation of a drop of 60000
11. Crude oil stocks -0.1M to 295.2M barrels
12. Gasoline stocks -3.5M to 213.6M barrels

My expectation for the USD crosses

1. EUR : Negative
2. AUD : Neutral
3. GBP : Neutral
4. CAD : Neutral
5. JPY : Negative
6. CHF : Neutral

Bottomline : I expect the US dollar to gain some strength, the US dollar bears have somehow taken centerstage once again.