The US dollar is kicking off October lower as the number of Americans filing for first-time unemployment benefits fell to a six-month low and consumers continued to show some signs of life in August. Still, the greenback is poised for a noteworthy weekly gain against many of its major currency rivals, buoyed by uncertainty in the broader financial markets.
The US dollar is rallying against a basket of currencies to close out the trading week, driven by a better-than-expected but slower than usual second-quarter economic report. The gross domestic product cooled down in the April-to-June period, but there were some bright spots in the overall report, including a surge in consumer spending.
The Japanese yen is mixed against a basket of currencies to start the trading week as traders try to make sense of the economy. It is a case of is Japan in a recession or is the economy already recovering? Policymakers cannot seem to determine what is going on in Tokyo, and the recent influx of data is not helping investors make a concrete bet on or against the world’s third-largest economy.
The US dollar is mixed against a basket of currencies towards the end of the trading week. The greenback is making sense of an influx of economic data that paints an interesting portrait of the country: a slowing economy, but a solid labor market.
The US dollar weakened against a basket of currencies on Thursday, driven by a slowing national economy in the fourth quarter and a bump in jobless claims in the last week. The greenback’s losses were capped by a positive business barometer that suggested renewed activity.
The euro was down intraday during the Tuesday’s session but bounced later, getting support from positive GDP figure released from the eurozone. Not all European macroeconomic indicators were good, though.
The New Zealand dropped after the release of disappointing electronic card spending data.
The British pound edged lower against the US dollar on Friday in the wake of consumer spending data that revealed that British consumers continued to suffer from weak spending power. Fresh readings for business investment and gross domestic product met expectations, which left the British currency vulnerable to a slew of other economic releases.
The US dollar extended a drop against the euro on Thursday, despite data that revealed the US economy was stronger than previously estimated in the first quarter of 2017. An index that tracks the strength of the greenback against other main counterparts touched its weakest level today since October 2016 as the US currency continued to tumble lower.
The US Dollar dropped against the euro and other major currencies on Wednesday even as traders remained optimistic about an interest rate hike from the Federal Reserve in June. The Federal Open Market Committee will begin a meeting that will last two days on June 13 to review the US economic conditions and possibly raise interest rates.
