Dollar Shows Mixed Trading Against Majors
Friday morning in Asia, the U.S. dollar showed mixed trading against its major counterparts. While the dollar recovered from a 2-day low against the yen, it eased slightly from a new multi-month high against the euro and a 2-day high against the pound. The dollar also pared its recent gains against the Swiss franc.
Ben Bernanke was confirmed to a second term as Chairman of the Federal Reserve by the Senate on Thursday, ending weeks of speculation that the Fed chief would not receive enough votes.
The debate over Bernanke’s confirmation has been a contentious one, as the Fed has come under increasing scrutiny since the 2008 financial crisis.
The dollar that fell to a 2-day low of 89.60 against the yen at 7:35 pm ET Thursday gained ground thereafter. Currently, the dollar-yen pair is trading at 89.99. If the pair advances further, it may target the 90.6 level.
Japan’s CPI, unemployment rate, industrial production and the BoJ minutes released earlier in the day likely influenced the yen.
The dollar that strengthened against the Swiss franc in early Friday Asian deals lost ground after reaching a high of 1.0551 at 7:30 pm ET. At present, the dollar-franc pair is worth 1.0526 with 1.048 seen as the next downside target level.
The dollar jumped to a new multi-month high of 1.3914 against the euro at 8:15 pm ET Thursday and a 2-day high of 1.6112 against the pound at 7:30 pm ET. Thereafter, the US currency eased and it is currently worth 1.3942 against the euro and 1.614 against the pound.
Consumer confidence in Great Britain improved in January, but remained in negative territory. The GfK NOP survey firm reported today that its U.K. Consumer Confidence index improved two points to minus-17 in November.
Looking ahead, Japan’s housing starts report for December is due at 12:00 am ET.
The U.K. Nationwide house price index for January, Italian PPI and unemployment rate, Euro-zone M3 money supply and unemployment rate- all for the month of December, Euro-zone CPI estimate and the Swiss KOF leading indicator for January are expected to influence trading in the European session.
From the U.S., the Bureau of Economic Analysis is due to release its advance fourth quarter GDP report at 8:30 am ET.
At 9:45 am ET, the results of the Institute of Supply Management-Chicago’s business survey for January are scheduled to be released.
The Reuters/University of Michigan’s final report on the consumer sentiment index for January is due at 9:55 am ET.
