The US dollar reached the highest level in two years against the euro and erased its previous losses versus the Great Britain pound today as concerns about the debt crisis in the European Union drove investors to the safety of the US currency. The greenback was weaker against the Japanese yen.
There was plenty of news to make traders worried: surging Spanish yield, downgrade of outlook for Germany and some other country by Moody’s, bad PMI figures from the eurozone countries. All that boosted demand for safety of the US currency.
The data from the United States was also not very good and that may explain the weakness of the US dollar against the Japanese currency. The Flash Manufacturing PMI was at 51.8 in July, below the analysts’ estimate of 52.1. The Richmond Manufacturing Index unexpectedly fell to -17 this month from -1 in the previous month, while it was expected to reach 0.
EUR/USD was down from 1.2115 to 1.2063 as of 19:29 GMT today, reaching the lowest closing price since July 10, 2010. GBP/USD jumped from 1.5503 to 1.5551, but later retreated to the opening level. USD/JPY fell from 78.34 to 78.20.
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