The U.S. dollar showed mixed trading against other major currencies during early European session on Thursday ahead of various economic reports due from U.S. in the upcoming hours. While the dollar plunged to a 5-week low against the euro, it recouped Asian session’s loss against the yen. On the other hand, the dollar showed choppy trading against the franc and it pared recent gains against the pound.
The U.S. PPI for August, weekly jobless claims data for the week ended September 11, Treasury Department’s report on the flows of financial instruments into and out of the U.S. for June and the results of the Philadelphia Federal Reserve’s manufacturing survey are expected to influence trading in the upcoming hours.
The U.S. dollar bounced between 1.000 and 1.003 against the Swiss franc in early European deals on Thursday. The next downside and upside target levels for the dollar-franc pair are seen at 0.994 and 1.007, respectively. The pair is now worth 1.0019, compared to 1.0038 hit late New York Wednesday.
The State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) raised its economic growth forecast for the Swiss economy from 1.8% to 2.7%. Amid the report, the franc gained against other currencies.
But the franc failed to move for the Swiss second quarter industrial production report released at 3:15 am ET.
In early European deals on Thursday, the dollar weakened against the euro. At present, the dollar is trading at a 5-week low of 1.3086 against the euro, compared to an early Asian session high of 1.2977. On the downside, 1.333 is seen as the next target level for the dollar. At yesterday’s close, the euro-dollar pair was quoted at 1.3007.
The euro spiked up in early European session on a larger-than-expected eurozone trade surplus report.
The European Union’s statistics agency Eurostat said today the 16 countries that use the euro had a combined surplus in their trade in goods with the rest of the word of 6.7 billion euros, up from a surplus of 2.2 billion euros in June. The surplus came as a surprise to economists, who had estimated it to fall to 1.3 billion euros.
After hitting a high of 1.5541 against the pound at 4:30 am ET Thursday, the U.S. dollar slipped. Currently, the dollar is worth 1.5600 per pound, compared to yesterday’s close of 1.5622.
The pound slumped in early European deals on disappointing U.K. retail sales report.
U.K.’s retail sales volume including automotive fuel dipped by 0.5% in August from July, the Office for National Statistics said today. Economists were expecting a 0.3% rise after a 0.8% increase in July.
Year-on-year, the seasonally adjusted volume of retail sales in August rose by 0.4%, slower than the 1% growth in July. August’s growth figure was considerably smaller than the expected 1.9%.
The dollar that dropped to 85.24 against the yen in Asian deals on Thursday recovered during early European session. Presently, the dollar-yen pair is trading at 85.70. If the dollar strengthens further, it may breach yesterday’s 16-day high of 85.78 and likely target the 85.9 level.
Looking ahead, the Swiss National Bank is scheduled to announce its interest rate decision at 8:00 am ET. The central bank is widely expected to leave rates unchanged at 0.25%.