General Commentary
Last Week’s Currency Trading Review:
The EUR/USDfell to its lowest at 1.3434 as the US dollar gained momentum and global tensions weighed on the shared currency. The euro hit a high early in the week of 1.3549. data on Thursday showing that U.S. weekly jobless claims hit their lowest level since 2006 bolstered views of an improving U.S. labor market. Earlier this month, data showed a surge in U.S. nonfarm payrolls growth in June.
Analysts said the weak German business sentiment underscored the impact of tensions surrounding Russia and Ukraine on Germany, Europe’s biggest economy. The potential impact of hard-hitting sanctions against Russia also likely hurt business confidence in Germany, they said.
TheAUD/USD ended the week higher than the open but off its highs for the week as traders were hoping the Aussie might break the 95 level. The pair ended at 0.94090 as the US dollar continued to gain. HSBC Chinese manufacturing data printed higher than expectations helping to support the currency.
The USD/JPYclosed the week at 101.81 gaining a few points over the week. The pair touched a low of 101.19. The yen dipped against the dollar on a slight reduction in geopolitically-inspired risk aversion that lifted equities. Still, markets were unable to fully shake off geopolitical concerns as tensions in the Ukraine and Gaza remained high, keeping the dollar in a narrow corridor against the Japanese currency
The dollar has appreciated 1 percent in the past month, according to Bloomberg Correlation-Weighted Indexes that track 10 developed nation currencies. The yen climbed 1 percent.
