The US Dollar has strengthened broadly against the majority of its most traded peers, snapping a six-day slump, after being boosted by expectations that Tuesday’s retail sales data will reinforce expectations that the Federal Reserve will soon begin to taper its monetary stimulus programme.
Earlier in the session the Japanese Yen tumbled to a weekly low against the ‘Greenback’ after data showed that the Japanese economy slowed more than forecast, adding to the speculation that Bank of Japan will introduce further stimulus measures in a bid to spur growth.
As the afternoon began the Pound slipped to a session low as the Dollar strengthened as speculation increased that Tuesday’s US retail sales data for July will support the view that the world’s largest economy is continuing to make a strong economic recovery.
“A better-than-expected retail sales number would suggest that the US economy is healthy, and could reignite expectations of tapering happening in September,” said a foreign exchange strategist at Nomura Holdings Inc. “We had a fairly weak US Dollar over the past week, so some of the strength could just be repositioning and profit-taking.”
The retail sales figures are expected to show a rise of 0.3% in July after the 0.4% rise recorded in June.
Sterling is likely to reverse the losses on Wednesday due to the release of the latest UK employment data which is widely expected to show a further decline in the number of UK citizens out of work.
After last week’s announcement by the Bank of England that it would tie its bank rates with the unemployment rate the markets are likely to pay closer attention to the figures.
Current US Dollar (USD) Exchange Rates
The US Dollar/Pound Sterling Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 0.6465
The US Dollar/Euro Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 0.7518
The US Dollar/Australian Dollar Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 1.0925
The US Dollar/Japanese Yen Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 96.7168
The US Dollar/Canadian Dollar Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 1.0309
(Correct as of 14:35 pm GMT)
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