The dollar is adding to recent losses against the Euro and the Japanese Yen on Wednesday, but is gaining ground against the pound sterling. Investors continue to speculate about when the Federal Reserve will begin tapering its stimulus measures and are eagerly anticipating the results of the Fed meeting next week.
U.S. lawmakers announced the details of a bipartisan budget agreement that would fund the government for the next two fiscal years. The deal places spending levels above the $967 billion cap established by the sequester and aims to reduce the deficit by $23 billion without raising taxes.
The bill will now go before the Senate and the House of Representatives for approval. President Barack Obama praised the deal as a “good first step” and said he would approve the agreement.
European finance ministers on Tuesday took one step further in finalizing an agreement on a joint mechanism to deal with failing banks, despite visible divisions among member countries over the key measures of the plan.
Though the ministers failed to arrive at a precise agreement on Tuesday’s meeting, they appeared keen to finalize the banking resolution plan before the EU leaders meeting on December 19-20.
The dollar has slipped to nearly a month and a half low of $1.3799 against the Euro on Wednesday, from yesterday’s low of $1.3794.
Germany’s EU harmonized inflation increased in November as estimated earlier, final figures released by the Federal Statistical Office showed Wednesday. Inflation as per the harmonized index of consumer prices (HICP) rose to 1.6 percent in November from 1.2 percent in October. The November figure matched the preliminary estimates.
Employment in France’s non-agricultural sector decreased further in the September quarter, but at a weaker pace than in the preceding quarter, data released by statistical office Insee revealed Wednesday. The number of employees in the market sector, excluding the farm division, dropped 0.1 percent in the September quarter from the second quarter, when employment decreased by 0.2 percent.
The greenback has risen to around $1.6370 against the pound sterling on Wednesday, from yesterday’s 2-year low of $1.6465.
The U.K. economy expanded 0.8 percent during three months to November, the National Institute of Economic and Social Research, or NIESR, estimated Wednesday. The growth follows the 0.7 percent increase seen during three months ended October. These robust rates of growth are consistent with a gradual narrowing of the UK’s negative output gap, it said.
The buck has fallen to around Y102.450 against the Japanese Yen on Wednesday, from Tuesday’s high of $103.385.
Core machine orders in Japan added a seasonally adjusted 0.6 percent on month in October, the Cabinet Office said on Wednesday, coming in at 807.2 billion yen. The headline figure missed forecasts for a gain of 0.7 percent following the 2.1 percent contraction in September.
An index tracking the prices of domestic corporate goods was up 0.1 percent in November compared to the previous month, the Bank of Japan said on Wednesday, standing at 102.6. That matched forecasts following the 0.1 percent contraction in October.
A leading indicator of the Japanese economy grew at a notably slower pace in September, suggesting that the current expansion in economic activity is unlikely to pick up during the first half of 2014, survey data released by the Conference Board revealed Wednesday.
The leading economic index added 0.2 percent month-on-month to reach 100.6 in October, continuing the upward trend seen since the beginning of the year. In September, the index recorded a 1.3 percent growth.