Greenback is heading lower today, dropping after seeing some gains earlier. Now, though, with concerns about what’s next for Ukraine back in the news, the dollar is losing ground to many of its major counterparts as gold prices rise dramatically.
Over the weekend, two regions in Ukraine held referendums on splitting off. Russian comments following the results indicate that it will support separatists — even though the government in Kiev and the governments of Western powers say the referendum was illegitimate.
Earlier, the US dollar gained ground on hopes for a peaceful resolution, but the latest comments from Russia seem to indicate that Russia and the West will be at odds. Gold prices have ratcheted up, and that is putting downward pressure on the greenback. Additionally, many Forex traders are looking for direction with the release of the federal budget in the United States, as well as some key economic data.
For now, it looks as though the greenback is going to be a little lower, at least until things settle a little bit.
At 13:25 GMT the dollar index is down to 79.8070 from the open at 79.8730. EUR/USD is up to 1.3765 from the open at 1.3753. GBP/USD is up to 1.6890 from the open at 1.6848. USD/JPY is up to 101.9430 from the open at 101.7925. Gold is up 14 to 1,302.
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