U.S. Dollar Higher After Encouraging Economic Data
March 15 2018 - 4:53AM
RTTF2
The U.S. dollar climbed against its most major counterparts in
the European session on Thursday, as a slew of positive reports on
jobless claims, import prices and New York business activity
spurred confidence in economy.
Data from the Labor Department showed that initial jobless
claims dipped to 226,000, a decrease of 4,000 from the previous
week's revised level of 230,000.
Economists had expected jobless claims to slip to 226,000 from
the 231,000 originally reported for the previous week.
A separate report released by the Labor Department showed import
prices increased by more than expected in the month of
February.
The Labor Department said import prices rose by 0.4 percent in
February after climbing by a revised 0.8 percent in January.
Economists had expected import prices to edge up by 0.2 percent
compared to the 1.0 percent jump originally reported for the
previous month.
The report also said export prices increased by 0.2 percent in
February after rising by 0.8 percent in January. Export prices were
expected to rise by 0.3 percent.
The Federal Reserve Bank of New York also released a report
showing business activity in the New York manufacturing sector grew
robustly in the month of March.
The New York Fed said its general business conditions index
climbed to 22.5 in March from 13.1 in February, with a positive
reading indicating growth in the manufacturing sector. Economists
had expected the index to edge up to 15.0.
Investors await the National Association of Home Builders'
report on homebuilder confidence in March, due at 10:00 am ET. The
housing market index is expected to edge down to 71 in March from
72 in February.
The currency fell against its major opponents in the Asian
session, as mounting concerns over trade tensions and disappointing
U.S. retail sales data weighed on investor sentiment.
The greenback reversed from an early low of 0.9433 against the
franc, rising to 0.9472. If the greenback rises further, it may
find resistance around the 0.97 level.
The Swiss National Bank kept its expansionary monetary policy
unchanged at the first rate-setting meeting of the year, and
reiterated its stance on foreign exchange market intervention.
The interest rate on sight deposits at the SNB was retained at
-0.75 percent and the target range for the three-month Libor was
kept unchanged between -1.25 percent and -0.25 percent.
The greenback held steady against the pound, after having risen
to a 2-day high of 1.3922 at 5:40 am ET. The pair closed
Wednesday's trading at 1.3961.
The greenback rose back to 106.09 against the yen, following an
8-day low of 105.79 hit at 1:15 am ET. The greenback is seen
finding resistance around the 108.00 level.
The greenback strengthened to a 2-day high of 1.2335 against the
euro, compared to 1.2367 hit late New York Wednesday. The greenback
is poised to find resistance around the 1.22 level.
Data from the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association
showed that Europe's new car registrations grew at a slower pace in
February.
Passenger car market grew 4.3 percent year-on-year in February,
slower than the 7.1 percent increase registered in January.
The greenback climbed to an 8-day high of 1.2994 against the
loonie and a 6-day high of 0.7837 against the aussie, from its
early lows of 1.2946 and 0.7885, respectively. On the upside, 1.31
and 0.76 are seen as the next resistance levels for the greenback
against the loonie and the aussie, respectively.
The greenback that advanced to a 3-day high of 0.7289 against
the kiwi shortly before the data held steady afterwards. At
yesterday's close, the pair was worth 0.7331.
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