The dollar hits its lowest in two weeks.
Before the spring break ends, this is the tip-me-kko who went strawberry picking and cherry blossom viewing, hello.
They were almost in full bloom! (The photos are a bit lousy)
Now, today's interesting news.
(The following is quoted from Yahoo's Reuters)
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NY FX Market: Dollar at a two-week low on expectations of early U.S. rate cuts
In late New York FX trading, the dollar fell to its lowest in two weeks. Following the previous day's economic data, expectations for early U.S. rate cuts have strengthened, weighing on the dollar.
The Institute for Supply Management (ISM) services index for March released on the 3rd unexpectedly fell, supporting expectations of rate cuts and further pressuring the dollar.
Meanwhile, the dollar pared its initial losses. This was in response to comments by Neel Kashkari, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, who said, “If inflation stays flat, there may be questions about the need for rate cuts.”
Rising Richmond Fed President Tom Barkin noted that January inflation data were “somewhat disappointing.” It may be due to weather or seasonal factors, but it raises questions about whether there is a real change in the economic outlook or just temporary bumps in the inflation path.
The dollar index was down 0.077% at 104.14. It touched an intraday low of 103.910, the lowest since March 21.
The market is watching the March U.S. employment report to be released on the 5th. According to Reuters’ economists’ consensus, nonfarm payrolls are expected to rise by 200,000.
Pareesh Upadhaya, director of bonds and FX strategy at AMUNDI US, said, “Powell still seems to be aiming for rate cuts in June. Therefore, reaction to this employment data could be amplified, especially if nonfarm payrolls come in below or at the lower end of expectations.”
The yen rose 0.27% against the dollar to 151.28. It had touched 151.975 earlier last week.
Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda told Asahi Shimbun in an interview that if exchange rate movements are expected to have a non-negligible impact on wages and prices, it would justify adjusting monetary policy. However, he gave no comment on the current exchange-rate assessment.
Takao Yamazaki, former Finance Ministry official and special professor at International Medical University, said in a Reuters interview on the 4th that if the USD/JPY clearly breaks above the current range’s upper bound, the government and the BOJ would intervene to buy yen.
The Swiss franc fell about 0.6% against the dollar. The Swiss Federal Statistical Office released March CPI on the 4th, up 1% year over year, the lowest growth since September 2021, strengthening expectations for additional SNB rate cuts.
The Swiss franc also weakened against the euro to 0.9848 francs per euro, a pre-May 2023 early-May low.
The euro/dollar rose 0.12%.
The Australian dollar rose above its 200-day moving average, reaching 0.66180 USD, a two-week high.
The New Zealand dollar rose 0.33% to 0.6030 USD.
China markets were closed for holidays.
(End of excerpt)
...That was all.
Today's U.S. employment data is quite intriguing, isn’t it.
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