The U.S. dollar found some respite from selling on Thursday, a day after dropping to a three-month low, as investors focus on an economic calendar crowded with Federal Reserve speakers, including Chairman Jerome Powell, and data points.
The ICE U.S. Dollar Index
DXY, +0.20%
inched 0.1% higher to 95.331 after diving to its weakest since October in the wake of the Fed’s December meeting minutes which showed that some central bank officials had been in favor of pausing interest rate increases last month., though the committee ultimately voted unanimously in favor of a 25 basis point rise.
In Thursday’s data, jobless claims for the week ended Jan. 5 slipped to a one-month low of 216,000. The greenback held steadily in positive territory following the release.
“Purely from an FX perspective, we think it would be unwise to discount U.S. jobless claims data as unimportant in spite of the weight carried by tomorrow’s U.S. CPI inflation release,” wrote Stephen Gallo, European head of FX strategy at BMO. “Further evidence that the former series has put in a trough will not go unnoticed by FX investors seeking to bolster the…weak dollar narrative. Fed speak is yet another dollar danger point too.”
Read: Fed chatter confirms interest rates on hold until May at earliest
Five Federal Reserve officials are due to make public comments throughout the day, including Powell at 12.20 p.m. Eastern.
The euro
EURUSD, -0.1819%
retraced some of Wednesday’s gains which carried it to its highest level since mid-October. But after its impressive rally, dollar skeptics could view Thursday’s modest pullback in the shared currency as a reason to buy, market participants said.
The euro last fetched $1.1528, down from $1.1545 late Wednesday.
In the U.K., a Labor Party official played up the chanced of a delay to the March 29 date when the U.K. is slated to leave the European Union. A delay was previously dismissed by Tory officials. The British pound
GBPUSD, -0.2268%
was one of the weakest major currencies on Thursday, buying $1.2763, down versus $1.2788.
Don’t miss: Brexit: This chart shows what (probably) happens next
Also read: A Brexit delay is becoming more likely and here’s how the pound may trade
Elsewhere, China’s yuan was guided to its strongest level versus the dollar since August in the wake of the conclusion of Beijing-Washington trade talks, which resulted in China vowing to buy more U.S. goods. The conversation ended on an optimistic note Wednesday but left the most divisive issues in the long-running trade battle yet to be resolved.
In Beijing, one dollar bought 6.7879 yuan
USDCNY, -0.4429%
down 0.4% near its lowest since late July, according to FactSet. In the offshore market, the buck fetched 6.7905 yuan
USDCNH, -0.3435%
down 0.3%.
In less rosy news, Chinese consumer and producer prices decelerated sharply in December, triggering new worries about China’s economic health.
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Source : MTV
