Dollar Hits Fresh Lows Against Euro, Pound And Aussie
In early Asian deals on Thursday, the U.S. dollar has been extending its Wednesday’s decline and hit a fresh record low against the Aussie and fresh multi-month lows against the euro and the pound as the Federal Reserve left its interest rates unchanged at near-zero levels.
The Fed also indicated that it will continue its asset purchase program through the end of June. In the statement released Wednesday, the Fed noted that the economic recovery is proceeding at a moderate pace and said overall conditions in the labor market are improving gradually.
Speaking at the first press conference in the history of the Fed, the Chairman Ben Bernanke said that the Federal Open Market Committee is still projecting a “moderate” pace of economic recovery.
Bernanke also noted that monetary policy actions must be taken with an eye toward future due to the delayed impact of policy changes.
The U.S. dollar is currently trading at fresh multi-month lows of 1.4838 against the euro and 1.6672 against the pound, compared to Wednesday’s close of 1.4783 and 1.6627, respectively. The next downside target level for the dollar is seen at 1.70 against the pound and 1.50 against the euro.
Against the Australian dollar, the U.S. dollar is now trading at a fresh record low of 1.0906, compared to Wednesday’s close of 1.0877.
The dollar fell slightly against the currencies of Japan, Switzerland and Canada. The dollar is now worth 0.9495 against the loonie, 81.95 against the yen and 0.8730 against the franc, compared to yesterday’s close of 0.9500, 82.19 and 0.8750, respectively.
Japan’s CPI, household spending, unemployment rate and the industrial production reports – all for the month of March, which were released early in the Asian session failed to influence the yen.
