The index was boosted on Tuesday after the Conference Board said its consumer confidence index rose to its highest level in almost a year in August.
Advertisement
As of writing, USD/JPY is in the green with a surge of 0.13% to 103.12 on Wednesday as investors overturned stakes made against the United States currency on talks that the Federal Reserve would not hike interest rates anytime soon. Other U.S. housing data also indicating an improving economy. The trade-weighted index eased to 77.10 from 77.18.
The dollar index, which measures the greenback against six major currencies, was up 0.56 per cent at 95.116 in late trading, the highest level in three weeks. Sterling hit low at $1.3070 after the United States economic data, but recovering most of the ground to trade at 1.3137 in the late U.S. session. The figures come ahead of the U.S. Labor Department’s more comprehensive non-farm payrolls report on Friday, which may offer clues on the outlook for U.S. interest rates. Oil prices declined more than 3 percent, paring their big gains for August, after government data showed a large surprise weekly build in US crude. The AUD/USD was under pressure on Wednesday, finishing at.7502, down 0.0006 or -0.08%. The Australian dollar traded near one-month lows on Wednesday after upbeat US data added to the risk of a near-term rate hike by the Federal Reserve. The Aussie has been on a downtrend since hitting a near 3-1/2 month high of $0.7760 earlier in August.
Wong said the ANZ Business Outlook for August, due out today, is likely to be the main piece of important data for the market but the main event this week is still non-farm payrolls data due out in the United States on Friday, which are expected to show the world’s largest economy added 180,000 jobs in August.
Some doubts as to whether the United States central bank will be able to move next month helped European shares gain.
Europe’s broad FTSEurofirst 300 index was last up 0.63 per cent, at 1,358.88. Earlier on Wednesday, the ANZ bank’s survey for August showed a net 15.5 percent of companies were optimistic about the coming year, which was fractionally lower than July.
Dow Jones closed down by 0.29 percent, S&P 500 ended down by 0.24 percent, Nasdaq finished the day down by 0.19 percent.
“But the pair also looks to have gone a little too far, as it has gained despite risk aversion amid falls in crude oil and US stocks and flat Treasury yields”, he said.
The U.S. currency has gained nearly 3 percent versus the yen since Friday, when Fed Chair Janet Yellen and Vice Chair Stanley Fischer kept open the possibility of a 2016 rate hike, perhaps as soon as September, at a meeting of central bankers in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. They are also pricing in a 55 percent chance of a hike by the end of the year. Spot gold prices were last down $4.64, or 0.35 per cent, at $1,318.37 an ounce.
Oil prices fell for a second straight day on the dollar’s strength and worries about crude oversupply.
Advertisement
Brent crude settled down 89 cents, or 1.81 percent, at $48.37 per barrel.
