US Dollar Higher on Weak Australian Data and Euro-Zone Risks
Created using Marketscope 2.0 (Hourly Chart)
THE TAKEAWAY: The US Dollar Index ended the week higher on soft data out of Australia, Yen weakness and the ECB President Mario Draghi warning of Eurozone growth risk.
The start of the week saw a somewhat subdued US Dollar, as investors waited for key data to be released. Half way through Asian trade on Wednesday saw the Reserve Bank of Australia hold rates as expected, but a dovish outlook from Governor Stevens saw the Australian Dollar spike sharply lower against the Greenback.
After consolidating gains, the Dollar appreciated still as the Yen fell on news that the Bank of Japan’s Governor Masaaki Shirakawa would step down earlier than anticipated. Yen weakness stemmed from news that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s choice of Governor would take the reins sooner than expected.
The dovish outlook that saw the Australian Dollar weaker after the RBA Rate Decision on Wednesday was confirmed by worse than expected Australian Retail Data which saw the Greenback gain further. The US Dollar’s rally late in the week came after ECB President Mario Draghi held a conference after the ECB decided to hold rates at 0.75 per cent. President Draghi warned that growth risk in the Eurozone continued to be on the downside and that the ECB will monitor the Euro level for inflation risk which saw the Euro drop sharply.
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