The US Dollar has jumped upwards against the Euro and strengthened against all of its most traded peers after the latest US consumer confidence data smashed economist forecasts.
According to the New York based Conference Board confidence jumped to 81.4 a figure that exceeded all forecasts and is the highest level since January 2008, from a revised number of 74.3 in May.
The US Dollar has jumped upwards against the Euro
Consumer confidence is closely watched by economists as consumer spending accounts for around 70% of all US economic activity.
The strong data combined with better-than-expected durable goods data which showed that factory orders for durable goods increased. According to the Commerce Department, orders increased by 3.6% as demand for goods ranging from machinery to aircraft rose. Economists had been expecting orders to rise by 3% after the previous month’s strong figure of 3.5%.
The data throws added weight behind the Federal Reserve’s decision to taper its monetary easing policy as it is the latest indication that factory activity in the US is improving. Growing demand for cars and trucks are countering weakness in the nations export markets.
Lynn Franco, director of economic indicators at the Conference Board, said that “suggests the pace of growth is unlikely to slow in the short-term, and may even moderately pick up.”
The Conference Board survey is conducted in the first half of the month. So the June report didn’t capture the impact of Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke’s comments last week after the Fed’s policy meeting. Bernanke said the Fed could begin to slow its bond purchases by the end of the year. Since then, stocks have plunged and emerging market currencies have been hammered by the strong Dollar.
US Dollar (USD) Current Exchange Rates
The US Dollar/Pound Sterling Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 0.6479
The US Dollar/Euro Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 0.7614
The US Dollar/Australian Dollar Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 1.0784
The US Dollar/Japanese Yen Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 97.3574
The US Dollar/Canadian Dollar Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 1.0478
(Correct as of 15:45 pm GMT)
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