An index that tracks the strength of the US dollar traded on Friday near its lowest level since February 6, even as the greenback recovered some of its losses against the euro and the Canadian dollar today. Investors paid little attention to mixed data in the United States today, as anticipation built up for a meeting between the finance ministers of the Group of Twenty.
The meeting, which started today, is closely watched by the market in search for hints of the positions of the groupâs governments toward their respective currencies. US President Donald Trump previously commented on the rising strength of the dollar, which in his opinion increases the ability of nations like China to use manipulative currency strategies to be more competitive.
Investors will be looking for further signals in the meeting of a move from Washington against the stronger dollar. A close eye will also be kept on hints of possible changes to monetary and trade policies in the groupâs members as finance ministers and central bankers discuss exchange rates, economic reforms, and international trade.
The dollar failed to gain momentum against its main counterparts today as data releases painted a mixed picture of the US economy. A report by the Federal Reserve, which was released at 1:15 GMT, said that US industrial production remained unchanged in February after decreasing 0.1% in January. However, the report disappointed expectations of a 0.2% gain.
Another report showed that an index of consumer sentiment in Michigan rose to 97.6 in March from 95.7 in February, which beats estimates of 97.0. The same report, which was released by the University of Michigan, said that another index revealed that consumer expectations also improved, as the index climbed to 86.7 this month from 85.7 in February.
EUR/USD traded at 1.0750 as of 18:25 GMT on Friday, from 1.0780 at 06:45, the pairâs highest level since February 3. EUR/USD started trading today at 1.0771. USD/CAD was at 1.3329, after briefly rising to 1.3375 at 15:35, the highest level since March 15. USD/CAD opened the day at 1.3322.
The Dollar Index, which measures the performance of the US currency against its major counterparts, was at 100.24 as of 18:24 GMT, the lowest level since February 6, from 100.36 yesterday.
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