The US dollar is sliding against its major currency peers on Thursday, the first full day of President Joe Biden‘s term in the White House. The greenback is sliding mostly on disappointing employment data, with initial jobless claims remaining at monthly highs.
The New Zealand dollar was soft today, falling against many of its most-traded rivals. That is despite positive macroeconomic reports released during Thursday’s trading session in New Zealand and China, New Zealand’s biggest trading partner.
The Canadian dollar is strengthening against its US counterpart on Tuesday, buoyed by third-quarter economic growth and rebounding manufacturing activity. But the loonie’s rally was capped by sliding crude oil prices amid uncertainty over the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies, OPEC+, regarding output in 2021.
The Australian dollar was the second strongest currency on the Forex market today, losing only to the Canadian dollar. The Aussie rallied for the same reasons as the New Zealand dollar: the rebound of crude oil prices, good economic data in China, decent domestic macroeconomic reports.
The New Zealand dollar rallied against major currencies today, though was unable to beat its commodity-linked counterparts. Market analysts explained the rally by the sharp rebound of crude oil prices after an intraday decline. Positive macroeconomic data from New Zealand itself and the country’s biggest trading partner, China, was also supporting the kiwi.
The US dollar erased its gains on Tuesday and deepened into negative territory after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi revealed that a coronavirus stimulus and relief package could be done by the day’s end. This sent stocks and other asset classes rallying as investors were confident that the White House and the Democratic leadership could reach an agreement over a $2 trillion bill.
The US dollar is looking for direction against many of its currency rivals on Thursday after the federal government reported that the number of Americans filing for first-time unemployment benefits declined to a pandemic low. The US central bank’s important September policy meeting continues to weigh on the buck, while uncertainty surrounding Congress’ newest stimulus package sparks concern in the broader financial markets.
The euro today rallied to new 2-year highs against the US dollar mainly driven by the latter’s overall weakness as tracked by the US Dollar Index. The EUR/USD currency pair today hit a high of 1.1966, which was last seen in March 2018 driven by the bullish investor sentiment.
The Australian dollar was rising at the start of today’s trading session, reaching multi-month highs, but has retreated after the release of Australian gross domestic product for the first quarter of this year. The report revealed that the Australian economy contracted, ending its record almost 30-year period of growth.
The New Zealand dollar attempted to rally today following a surprisingly positive employment report that showed that New Zealand unexpectedly added jobs last quarter. The currency has retreated against some of its rivals by now but managed to keep gains versus others.
