US dollar is mostly higher today, gaining against European currencies as risk appetite flees the scene. The state of Cyprus is once again in the news and having an effect.
US dollar is moving lower against the Japanese yen, thanks in large part to worse than expected business inventories in the United States. For February, business inventories only increased 0.1%, rather than the expected 0.4%. As a result, first quarter GDP forecasts are likely to be reduced.
However, even with this difficulty, the US dollar is doing well against other currencies. Once again Cyprus is the focus of the world’s eye. Officials in the fiscally embattled country insist that they only need structural aid, and that they aren’t requesting increased bailout funds. This comes on the heels of recent announcements to sell off gold reserves.
The confusion surrounding Cyprus is causing uncertainty, and that is leading many Forex traders to favor safe havens like the US dollar. So, for now, the greenback is enjoying some relative strength against its European counterparts.
At 14:40 GMT the US dollar index is up to 82.290 from the open at 82.194. EUR/USD is down to 1.3088 from the open at 1.3100. GBP/USD is down to 1.5361 from the open at 1.5385. USD/JPY is down to 99.0795 from the open at 99.6700.
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