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Many analysts yesterday had anticipated a slight decline in the price of Crude Oil considering the recent strength in the USD brought on by last week’s employment data. However, oil prices surprised many traders today as the price continued to climb above $70 a barrel to hit a 7-month high! As Geithner’s speech demonstrated a renewed push for economic recovery, and potential plans to raise interest rates in the US, there isn’t very stable ground around the common safe-haven investments. Traders should expect more volatility today. The U.S. Dollar weakened during yesterday’s trading session, correcting the sharp gains against the EUR and GBP seen earlier this week. This occurred as investors questioned whether the economy had improved enough to justify talk of higher U.S. interest rates by year end. By yesterday’s close, the USD fell sharply against the EUR, pushing the oft-traded currency pair to 1.4060. The dollar experienced similar behavior against the GBP and closed at 1.6310. The dollar, which fell sharply in May, rallied late last week after data showed U.S. employers cut fewer than expected jobs last month, but that move fizzled yesterday as analysts warned the U.S. economy still faced a rising jobless rate. There was a quiet day of news from the U.S. as there were no major economic data releases on the calendar yesterday. However, U.S Treasury Secretary Geithner spoke about the state of the U.S. economy. He pointed out specifically that Barack Obama will unveil a new model for regulation of financial institutions next week which might affect the dollar. Overall, investors remained wary of making big bets in favor of the dollar these days, especially as they re-thought the chances of a Fed rate increase later this year. Looking ahead to today, there are several important news releases coming out of the U.S. These include the Trade Balance and Crude Oil inventories at 12.30 GMT and 14:30 GMT, respectively. Better-than-expected results may help the Dollar recover some of yesterday’s losses against some of its crosses such as the EUR and GBP. On the other hand, if the results turn out to be lower than forecast, then the Dollar may record a fairly bearish session in today’s trading. Traders should pay close attention to the market as there is an opportunity for traders to capitalize on the fluctuations which are likely to follow these releases.