US dollar is retaining its upper hand against counterparts today as the good news about initial jobless claims offers speculation that an improving jobs situation could lead to an interest rate hike. Even though the latest Fed minutes don’t support the idea of rate hikes anytime soon, there are still many who hope for better outcomes for the greenback.
Greenback is higher today against its European counterparts, gaining ground against the pound and the euro. Risk aversion is still an issue, but much of it has to do with policy divergence. In the eurozone, there are attempts to keep the euro weak in the name of economic stimulus, and the latest Bank of England decision has been deemed “uninspiring” by many analysts.
As a result, the US dollar has the upper hand today against its European counterparts. This is only highlighted by the better than expected initial claims report issued yesterday. While there are still concerns due to the fact that the Fed doesn’t seem ready to hike rates quite yet, the greenback is still seen as strengthening.
At 13:14 the Dollar Index is up to 80.1760 from the open at 80.1380. GMT EUR/USD is down to 1.3597 from the open at 1.3608. GBP/USD is down to 1.7112 from the open at 1.7132. USD/JPY is down to 101.3300 from the open at 101.3430.
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