The dollar recovers on Friday against its major traded rivals despite Trump’s comments on Fed, which is not unusual anymore, and an equities sell-off.
The decline in shares has yet to spread into the Forex market. Emerging-market currencies are still appreciating while the Japanese yen and Swiss franc did not surrender significantly. The greenback has risen 2.5% since July on expectations interest rates will soon rise further. Also trade war worries supported the US currency as it is considered a safe retreat.
An index tracking the greenback versus six currencies was up 0.1% just below its monthly high of 96.15 on Tuesday. Some experts see few signs the dollar will fall further. Fed said last month that three rate hikes are expected next year.
Dollar recovers, Sterling and Euro drop
The euro edged down on Friday after reaching a weekly high at 1.1611. ECB minutes on Thursday suggested the central bank was on track to normalise its ultra-loose monetary policy this year. However, concern about slowing growth in Europe is still vivid.
Sterling dropped on Friday as investors booked profits after a rally. The British currency goes for a second consecutive week of gains on growing optimism about a Brexit deal ahead of the EU Summit next week.
Against the dollar sterling dropped 0.2%. Sterling traded flat against the single currency at 87.60 pence per euro.
The Japanese yen, a preferred currency in times of market instability, traded at 112.34 on Friday. It had strengthened to 111.83 against the greenback on Thursday, its highest since Sept. 18.
The Australian dollar was at $0.7122, recovering from Monday’s two-year low of $0.7039. The rally was supported by promising news out of China, its biggest trade partner.
Oil prices edged further above $80 a barrel on Friday as a rally in equities supported it. Prices pared most of their gain after a closely watched forecaster deemed supply adequate and the outlook for demand weakening. Brent crude futures rose by 34 cents a barrel to 80.60$ a barrel having dropped by 3.4 percent on Thursday. U.S. crude futures rose by 45 cents a barrel from their last close.
Sources: Reuters, CNN money, BBC
PLEASE NOTE The information above is not investment advice.