US Dollar Climbs To 3-day High Against Yen; Falls Against European Majors
During early European deals on Friday, the US dollar extended its Asian session gains and hit a 3-day high against the Japanese yen. On the other hand, the dollar edged down against the British pound, the European currency and the Swiss franc.
Against the European currency, the US dollar gained ground after hitting a low of 1.3949 at 1:25 am ET Friday. The dollar thus climbed to 1.3885 against the euro before losing ground at 4:45 am Eastern Time. The euro-dollar pair is currently trading at 1.3928 with 1.412 seen as the next target level. The pair closed Thursday’s North American session at 1.3903.
Germany’s Federal Statistical Office said today that the producer price index or PPI dropped 3.6% year-over-year in May, after falling 2.7% in April. This was the lowest annual rate of PPI since April 1987. The producer prices figure in May came in line with economists’ expectations. A year ago, the PPI had grown 5.3%.
On a monthly basis, the PPI remained unchanged in May, compared with a 1.4% fall in the preceding month.
Another report showed that Italy’s seasonally adjusted jobless rate rose to 7.3% in the first quarter from an upwardly revised 7% recorded in the final quarter of the previous year. The jobless rate, which is reportedly the highest in three years, matched economists’ expectation.
On an unadjusted basis, the jobless rate stood at 7.9%, the agency said.
Against the Japanese yen, the greenback traded higher during Friday’s early deals. At 4:50 am ET, the dollar-yen pair reached a 3-day high of 97.20, compared to 96.54 hit late New York Thursday. If the pair gains further, 97.9 is seen as the next target level. The pair is presently trading at 96.96.
The Bank of Japan today released the minutes of its policy board meeting held May 21-22. Minutes of the meeting showed that some Bank of Japan policy board members said the timing of the termination of temporary measures to increase liquidity depends on market conditions.
“Some members said that whether or not the bank would continue with various temporary measures, which were to be terminated on or after Sept. 30, should be determined based on close examination of developments in financial markets and corporate financing,” the summary of meeting discussions said.
The US currency edged down to 1.6454 against the British pound at 6:10 am ET Friday. The next downside target level for the dollar is seen around 1.66. The pound-dollar pair closed yesterday’s New York deals at 1.6334.
The US dollar lost ground after hitting a high of 1.0895 against the Swiss franc at 4:45 am ET Friday. The dollar-franc pair is currently trading at 1.0852, compared to Thursday’s closing value of 1.0866. On the downside, 1.074 is seen as the next target level for the dollar.
There are no significant economic reports scheduled to be released from US today.
