The forex value of the euro strengthens while the US dollar weakens mainly because of the improving economic situation in the United States. According to the latest figures, there are good prospects for faster economic recovery in the US. For instance, the February figures on consumer spending significantly increased to 0.7% from the forecasted 0.5%. On the other hand, many sceptical market analysts have pointed out that the main bulk of this rise can be attributed to the ballooning costs of wholesale energy. It should be recalled that energy cost is a significant chunk of household expense in the US.

Despite of the criticism about the recent consumer spending figures, investors reacted positively about the news but the stronger consumer spending figure also resulted in the weakening of the US dollar in the foreign exchange market. One does not need to become a forex trader to understand the inverse correlation between US equity market sentiments and the value of the greenback.

Meanwhile, the performance of the real estate property sector in the US also exceeded the forecasts. The pending home sales data for the month of February showed an increase of 2.1%. Many market analysts and investors were actually expecting zero growth in the housing sector. Most of them were pleasantly surprised by the sector’s performance.

Global investors are anticipating the busy trading session today in the US market. Various important US economic data will also be released today and will provide hints for market participants about the best investment strategies. Another important economic data due for release today is the US consumer confidence survey report. The overall optimism and appetite for risky assets are likely to improve further if the consumer confidence level overshoots the expectations.

On the domestic front, today will also be a hectic day for the release of various economic figures here in the United Kingdom. Among those that were already released earlier was the official and finalised GDP figures for the fourth quarter of 2010. Another important report will be the highly-monitored mortgage approval statistics for the month of February. Investors and analysts are expecting that the latest data would show that 46,500 new mortgages were granted approval last month. If the high figure is repeated this month, it could result to the housing sector’s significant contribution in the overall economic recovery.

Meanwhile, the situation in the eurozone may seem to be deterioration but the recent statements of the European Central Bank president may lead to the forex rebound of the euro. According to ECB President Jean Claude Trichet, the bank is likely to raise the base interest rates by next week. If Germany’s consumer price index inflation figure goes up further beyond expectations, the ECB will be forced to raise the interest rates.