U.S. Dollar Declines Against Most Majors
January 21 2015 - 9:33AM
RTTF2
The U.S. dollar slipped against most major currencies in early
New York deals on Wednesday, on the back of disappointing earnings
results.
The chip maker AMD reported lower-than-expected earnings in the
fourth quarter and gave lackluster revenue guidance for the first
quarter.
Shares of IBM fell after the tech giant reported that its
fourth-quarter revenues missed estimates and provided disappointing
guidance for the year.
Economic data released today was mixed. While the U.S. building
permits fell below forecasts in December, housing starts improved
in the same month.
The report from the U.S. Commerce Department showed that housing
starts jumped 4.4 percent to an annual rate of 1.089 million in
December from the revised November estimate of 1.043 million.
Economists had expected housing starts to climb 1.3 percent to
1.041 million in December from the 1.028 million originally
reported for the previous month.
The dollar got boost yesterday, after the International Monetary
Fund raised the U.S. growth estimate for 2015. The agency upgraded
growth forecast to 3.6 percent from 3.1 percent for the U.S., while
cutting growth view for nearly all major economies. Hopes for
higher interest rates in the U.S., compared to most other major
economies have seen a sharp rally in dollar bulls since last
year.
Extending early slide, the greenback slipped to a 2-day low of
117.22 against the Japanese yen, compared to 118.78 hit at
Tuesday's close. On the downside, 115.00 is seen as the greenback's
next support level.
The Bank of Japan announced its decision to leave its monetary
policy unchanged in its January meeting today.
The bank decided by a 8-1 vote to maintain its target of raising
the monetary base at an annual pace of about JPY 80 trillion.
The greenback that ended yesterday's trading at 0.8751 against
the Swiss franc weakened to a 2-day low of 0.8561. If the greenback
continues slide, it may find support around the 0.84 zone.
The greenback dropped to a 2-day low of 1.1636 against the euro,
after having advanced to 1.1540 at 7:00 pm ET. The next possible
support for the greenback is seen around the 1.20 zone.
The greenback held steady against the pound, following an
advance to 1.5075 in early European deals. The pair ended
yesterday's trading at 1.5141.
Policymakers of the Bank of England unanimously decided to leave
the key rate unchanged for the first time in six months, according
to the minutes.
The Monetary Policy Committee governed by Mark Carney voted 9-0
to retain the base rate at 0.50 percent, it showed.
Looking ahead, the Bank of Canada's interest rate decision is
due shortly. The bank is seen keeping rates on hold at 1.00
percent.
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