The dollar is gaining ground against both the Euro and the pound sterling Friday afternoon, but is basically flat in comparison to the Japanese Yen. The lack of U.S. economic data and the near absence of global economic data has investors kept the focus of investors where it has been for the past few day, on the central banks. Dovish comments from European Central Bank President Mario Draghi are responsible for the dollar’s strength against its top European rivals.
In remarks to the Frankfurt European Banking Congress, Mario Draghi pledged that the ECB would do what it must to raise inflation as quickly as possible.
“At the December Governing Council meeting we will thoroughly assess the strength and persistence of the factors that are slowing the return of inflation towards 2 percent,” Draghi said.
He added, “If we conclude that the balance of risks to our medium-term price stability objective is skewed to the downside, we will act by using all the instruments available within our mandate.”
Draghi’s remarks were seen as a sign that the ECB may ramp up its asset purchase program following its meeting next month.
The monetary stimulus measures already taken by the European Central Bank need more time to have a real impact on the Eurozone economy, but maintaining ultra-loose policy for a long time raises the risk of losing their efficiency, the bank’s policymaker Jens Weidmann said Friday.
“We need to be aware that the longer we stay in ultra-loose monetary policy mode, the less effective this policy will become and the more the attendant risks and side-effects will come into play,” Weidmann, who heads Germany’s Bundesbank, said in a speech at the 25th European Banking Congress in Frankfurt.
He pointed out the exuberance in some financial markets and the problems faced by life insurers as examples.
“We should not ignore the risk that fiscal policy could get used to the very low interest rates,” Weidmann added.
The dollar has climbed to around $1.0650 against the Euro Friday afternoon, from Thursday’s 4-session low of $1.0760.
Germany’s producer prices declined at the fastest pace since early 2010, data published by Destatis showed Friday.
Producer prices decreased 2.3 percent in October from last year, the biggest fall since February 2010, when prices declined 3 percent. Producer prices have been falling since August 2013. Economists had forecast prices to fall 2 percent after easing 2.1 percent in September.
The buck has risen to around $1.5190 against the pound sterling, from yesterday’s 2-week low of $1.5335.
U.K. public sector net borrowing, excluding public sector banks, increased unexpectedly in October, figures from the Office for National Statistics showed Friday. The PSNB, excluding public sector banks, climbed to GBP 8.2 billion in October from GBP 7.1 billion in the same month last year. Meanwhile, it was expected to narrow to GBP 6.0 billion.
Japan’s economy is expected to continue recovering moderately, the Bank of Japan said in its monthly report on Friday.
The bank reiterated that exports and industrial production are set to remain more or less flat for the time being, but after that, they are likely to increase moderately.
The greenback reached an early high of Y123.052 against the Japanese Yen, but has since eased back to around Y122.840, nearly unchanged for the session.