The ‘Greenback’ weakened against the Pound and softened against the Euro on a day of thin trading due to the annual summer lull in the northern hemisphere.
The US Dollar weakened against Sterling after the release of positive UK data. Losses were limited however as investors remain cautious ahead of this week’s highly anticipated policy statements from the Federal Reserve, European Central Bank and the Bank of England.
Earlier in Monday’s session the Bank of England released data showing that lending to individuals rose to £1.5 billion in June, up from the £1.2 billion recorded in the previous month. Economists had been expecting lending to individuals to rise to £1.4 billion.
Investors are being cautious ahead of the Federal Reserve’s two day policy meeting which begins on Tuesday. The caution and the summer break for many countries has seen currency trading drop to lighter levels. The policy meeting is expected to give the markets a clearer picture as to whether the Fed will soon begin to scale back its bond buying programme.
Recent data releases have created uncertainty over whether a scale down will occur or not. Last week the University of Michigan said that its index of consumer sentiment improved to 85.1 in July, up from the previous month’s level of 83.9 and beating expectations of a rise to 84.0. Following that data release was data showing that the number of people making jobless claims increased by 7,000, up from the 6,000 expected by economists.
Data released on Monday also hinted that the US housing sector is not as strong as believed as according to the National Association of Realtors the number of contracts to purchase previously owned US homes declined in June, retreating from a more than six year high recorded in May.
“Mortgage interest rates began to rise in May, taking some of the momentum out of contract activity in June,” said NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun. “The persistent lack of inventory also is contributing to lower contract signings.”
Current US Dollar (USD) Exchange Rates
The US Dollar/Pound Sterling Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 0.6499
The US Dollar/Euro Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 0.7523
The US Dollar/Australian Dollar Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 1.0820
The US Dollar/Japanese Yen Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 97.7847
The US Dollar/Canadian Dollar Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 1.0276
(Correct as of 15:45 pm GMT)
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