The US dollar rose today as fundamental reports were good, supporting the case for the Federal Reserve to reduce monetary stimulus. The gains were not big, though, and the greenback actually retreated against some currencies, including the Great Britain pound and the Australian dollar.
As was expected, the US currency was relatively strong and macroeconomic data were helping it. The Institute for Supply Management manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index was up a little from 55.4 percent in July to 55.7 percent in August instead of dropping as was predicted by analysts. Construction spending grew 0.6 percent in July from August, beating the forecast of 0.3 percent, while the previous reading was revised positively.
The dollar was not as strong as some market participants have hoped for. It even registered losses against currencies supported by domestic fundamentals, including the sterling and the Aussie.
EUR/USD was down from 1.3190 to 1.3167 (the daily low was at 1.3138) and USD/JPY went up from 99.30 to 99.65 as of 22:57 GMT today. At the same time, GBP/USD managed to advance from 1.5540 to 1.5559 even though it retread from the intraday maximum of 1.5601.
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