The dollar remained close to more than a week’s peak on Friday after a slew of data released overnight indicated a slowdown in the US economy, as investors bet the Federal Reserve would halt interest rate increases.
Sharjah 24 – Reuters:
On Friday, the dollar index, which measures the performance of the US currency against 6 major currencies, declined by 0.059% to 102.02, to remain close to the level of 102.15 that it touched overnight, which is the highest since the second of May.
The index is set to end a two-week losing streak, rising 0.7% this week.
Carol Kong, currency analyst at the Commonwealth Bank of Australia, said that weak US economic data may have encouraged the market while still taking into account the chances of the US central bank making sharp interest rate cuts this year.
The number of Americans filing new applications for unemployment benefits last week jumped to the highest level in a year and a half, pointing to cracks in the labor market as demand slowed, according to data released on Thursday that also showed a slight rebound in producer prices in April.
The reports came in line with the expectation of most economists of a recession by the end of the year.
-Federal Reserve policymakers have about five more weeks of data to analyze before their next meeting, and they said they plan to scrutinize it carefully before making a decision.
-Meanwhile, the euro rose 0.03% to $1.0917, and the Japanese yen rose 0.03% to $134.53 per dollar.
The Australian dollar fell 0.01% to $0.670, while its New Zealand counterpart fell 0.24% to $0.628.
And the pound sterling recorded $ 1.2512 in the latest transactions, up 0.02% during the day, after declining 0.6% yesterday, Thursday.
The Bank of England raised its main interest rate a quarter of a percentage point to 4.5% on Thursday, and Governor Andrew Bailey said the Bank of England would “stay on course” as it seeks to rein in inflation, which has been the fastest among major economies.
