Yahoo Finance Dollar Falls vs High-Yielders as Yuan Supports Risk Assets
Investing.com - The U.S. dollar fell sharply against higher-yielding currencies Thursday but rose against haven currencies as upbeat Chinese trade data and better-than-expected jobless claims went some way to restoring global risk appetite.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a basket of six major currencies, rose 0.1% to 97.422 by 10:12 AM ET (14:12 GMT), after reaching an earlier high of 97.507. But that modest move disguised losses of over half a percent against units such as the Aussie and emerging currencies not in the basket, such as the Brazilian real. The dollar gained against the Swiss franc partially reversing losses over the last two days.
Meanwhile, weekly jobless claims fell, indicating that the slowdown in the U.S. economy still hasn't reached at least some parts of the labor market.
Initial claims fell to 209,000 for the week ended August 3, the Labor Department said on Thursday. Data for the prior week was revised to show 2,000 more applications received than previously reported.
Overnight, new data showed that China’s exports rose 3.3% in July, the biggest jump in four months, while imports fell 5.6% on the year, which was less than expected. The data helped ease concerns over a currency war after China let its yuan slide to its lowest in over a decade.
Market expectations for another Federal Reserve rate cut in September remain, with other central banks around the world also easing monetary policy. New Zealand, India and Thailand cut interest rates this week as the spillover from the U.S.-China trade conflict, along with more local issues, hurt their economies.
The Japanese yen, which is seen as a safe-haven in times of market turmoil, inched higher with USD/JPY down 0.1% to 106.10. The euro gained across the board amid reports of the German government looking favorably on a possible stimulus package, with EUR/USD rising 0.1% to $1.1200, while the British pound slipped 0.1% to $1.2123.
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