The US Dollar firmed against the Pound following the release of mixed data out of the world’s largest economy.
Early in the afternoon the ‘Greenback’ climbed to session highs against the Euro and Yen after data released by the Federal Reserve showed that industrial production in the country recorded its biggest increase in seven months in September. Industrial output increased by 0.6%, beating economist forecasts for a rise of 0.4%.
Taken annually the amount of production from US mines, factories and utility’s increased by 2.3%, faster than the second quarter’s rate of 1.1%. Utilities made a recovery as they rebounded from five straight months of declines by rising by 4.4%.
Countering the positive output data was the release of reports regarding the nation’s existing home sales. The housing market showed signs of a slowdown after the index of pending house sells fell by 5.6%, far worse than the 1.6% decline expected by economists.
As a result of the data reports the Dollar firmed against Sterling but was unable to make further gains as the markets anticipate that the Federal Reserve’s upcoming policy meeting due to begin later in the week will show that policy makers will vote to delay tapering its $85 billion per month monetary easing programme, a move that will weaken the US Dollar. Adding to signs that the US economy could be slowing was the release of October’s Dallas Fed manufacturing activity which came in well below forecasts. It came in at 3 down from the 12.8 recorded in the previous month and well below the reading of 10 expected by economists.
The Canadian Dollar meanwhile halted its three day long decline against the Dollar but remained close to a 46-month low against Sterling. The ‘Loonie’ halted its gains after it was said that the currency had fallen too far, too fast.
“It’s halted the slide for now. The market is looking at what’s been happening in the US and they’re not confident a strong-Dollar policy or a basis for a strong-Dollar environment is there as long as the Fed is going through all these changes” said the director of foreign exchange at Bank of Montreal.
Tuesday looks set to be a busy day for the US Dollar as it sees the release of a plethora of data releases, including retail sales and producer price index reports.
US Dollar (USD) Current Exchange Rates
The US Dollar/Pound Sterling Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 0.6170
The US Dollar/Euro Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 0.7240
The US Dollar/ Canadian Dollar Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 1.0440
The Pound Sterling/US Dollar Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 1.6205
The Euro/ US Dollar Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 1.3812
Current Canadian Dollar (CAD) Exchange Rates:
The Canadian Dollar/US Dollar Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 0.9578
The Canadian Dollar /Euro Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 0.6934
The Canadian Dollar/Pound Sterling Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 0.5910
The Pound Sterling/Canadian Dollar Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 1.6919
The US Dollar/ Canadian Dollar Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 1.0440
The Euro/Canadian Dollar Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 1.4420
(Correct as of 14:45 pm GMT)
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