The US dollar today traded sideways against the euro after the release of positive jobless claims data amid an empty European docket. The US dollar exhibited some strength against the single currency immediately after the release of the jobless claims data, but later gave up some of its gains to create a sideways trend.
The EUR/USD currency pair was trading in a tight range around the 1.1800 handle for most of today’s session.
The EUR/USD pair started today’s session on a downward trend, which was reversed during the mid-European session after the release of the weekly insurance claims data by the Department of Labor. The jobless claims data exceeded expectations by coming in at 234,000 as compared to the market consensus of 238,000. The US Dollar Index, which tracks the greenback’s performance against a basket of its peers, hit a daily high of 93.38 after the release of the jobless claims data.
The release of weak existing home sales data by the National Association of Realtors increased the selling pressure on the US dollar. The existing home sales report for July came in at 5.44 million units, which fell short of the expected 5.55 million units. The mixed macro data from the US docket largely contributed to the pair’s sideways trading pattern.
Speeches by Federal Reserve Chairperson, Janet Yellen and the European Central Bank Governor, Mario Draghi, at the Jackson Hole Symposium tomorrow are likely to impact the currency pair’s future performance.
The EUR/USD currency pair was trading at 1.1807 as at 18:47 GMT having rallied from a low of 1.1782. The USD/JPY pair was trading at 109.39 having risen from its opening price of 108.87
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