Get 40% Off
🤯 This Tech Portfolio is up 29% YTD! Join Now to Get April’s Top PicksGet The Picks – Just 99 USD

Dollar regains strength, U.S. jobless claims ahead

Published 2015-12-10, 05:52 a/m
Updated 2015-12-10, 06:38 a/m
© Reuters.  Dollar rises against rivals as U.S. rate hike hopes dominate

© Reuters. Dollar rises against rivals as U.S. rate hike hopes dominate

Investing.com - The dollar regained some ground against the other major currencies on Thursday, as investors eyed the release of U.S. jobless claims data later in the day, as well as the Federal Reserve's highly-anticipated policy decision next week.

USD/JPY rose 0.23% to 121.73.

Demand for the dollar continued to be underpinned by expectations that the Fed is on track to raise interest rates for the first time since 2006 at its upcoming meeting on December 15-16.

Higher interest rates would make the dollar more attractive to yield-seeking investors.

EUR/USD slid 0.77% to 1.0938.

The euro still remained supported after the latest round of easing announced by the European Central Bank fell well short of market expectations.

On Wednesday, ECB Governing Council member Ewald Nowotny said market expectations for additional stimulus measures had been too high and that investors should have paid more attention to economic fundamentals.

Elsewhere, the dollar was steady against the pound, with GBP/USD at 1.5172 and was higher against the Swiss franc, with USD/CHF gaining 0.72% to 0.9905.

Markets shrugged off earlier data showing that the U.K. trade deficit widened to £11.83 billion in October from £8.8 billion the previous month. Economists had expected the trade deficit to widen to £9.7 billion in October.

Investors were awaiting the Bank of England's monthly monetary policy decision, due later in the day.

The Australian and New Zealand dollars were stronger, with AUD/USD up 0.79% at 0.7288 and with NZD/USD adding 0.13% to 0.6727.

Earlier Thursday, the Reserve Bank of New Zealand lowered its benchmark interest rate from 2.75% to 2.50%, in a widely expected move.

Commenting on the decision, RBNZ Governor Graeme Wheeler said that such a level should be low enough to meet the central bank's inflation target, but that it remains prepared to lower rates again if necessary.

In Australia, data showed that the number of employed people increased by 71,400 in November, confounding expectations for a 10,000 decline.

The unemployment rate ticked down to 5.8% last month from 5.9% in October, compared to expectations for a rise to 6.0%.

Separately, the Melbourne Institute said that its inflation expectations for the next 12 months rose to 4.0% last month from 3.5% in October.

Meanwhile, USD/CAD slipped 0.17% to trade at 1.3555, still close to Tuesday's 11-1/2 year highs of 1.3621.

The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was up 0.55% at 97.87.

Latest comments

Risk Disclosure: Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.
© 2007-2024 - Fusion Media Limited. All Rights Reserved.