Investing.com – The U.S. dollar rose to a sixth-month high as mostly positive U.S. durable goods data suggested the U.S. economy was strong enough to sustain further Fed rate hikes.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, rose by 0.38% to 94.08, after hitting a high of 94.19.
The Commerce Department said on Wednesday Core Durable Goods Orders rose 0.9% last month, beating economist forecast for a 0.5% rise. The nondefense capital goods orders ex-aircraft, a gauge of business spending, rose 1%.
“Business investment spending is solid enough to keep the Fed on the gradual path of interest rate hikes, where order books are full, but not enough to strain capacity and lead to more inflation,” BOT Mitsubishi said following the release of the data.
The ongoing slump in the euro in the wake of rising Eurozone uncertainty supported further gains in the greenback.
EUR/USD fell 0.47% to $1.1664 and was set for its sixth-straight week of losses as Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy faces a no-confidence vote, while Italian political uncertainty also weighed on the single currency.
GBP/USD fell 0.48% to $1.3316 following the release of U.K. GDP data that was in-line with expectations.
USD/JPY rose 0.16% to Y109.43 following U.S. President Trump’s reverse ferret on the North Korea summit after counterpart Kim Jong Un scaled back his recent inflammatory rhetoric and said he continued to favor at meeting with Trump at the summit in Singapore.
USD/CAD rose 0.73% to C$1.2976 as falling oil prices continued to support the pair following reports OPEC and its allies could lift curbs on oil output.