The US dollar trimmed its losses against riskier currencies yesterday as macroeconomic data from the United States was worse than expected. The currency resumed its decline today as optimism returned to the market.
Unemployment claims rose by 4,000 to 352,000 last week. The increase was small, but forecasters have promised the claims to stay virtually unchanged. The manufacturing index of the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia fell from 2.0 in March to 1.3 in April instead of rising as was expected. The reading above 0.0 still indicates an expansion of the sector. The leading indicators fell 0.1 percent in March, while an increase by the same rate was predicted by analysts.
The reports were worse than expected, but in no manner they were disastrous. The data weakened the positive market sentiment briefly, but it looks like Forex traders are again willing to risk and buy higher-yielding currencies.
EUR/USD rose from 1.3048 to 1.3059 as of 2:08 GMT today. AUD/USD went up from 1.0299 to 1.0308 after dropping to 1.0280, while USD/CAD declined from 1.0262 to 1.0248.
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