Dollar mostly higher as traders react to shutdown

Dollar mostly higher as traders react to shutdown

Investing.com – The U.S. dollar traded higher against most of its major rivals during Wednesday's Asian session as traders remained concerned about the impact a U.S. government shutdown could have on riskier currencies.�

In Asian trading Wednesday, EUR/USD fell 0.12% to 1.3510 after data out Tuesday showed that the final reading of the bloc's manufacturing index came in at 51.1 in September, unchanged from the preliminary estimate, but below 26-month high of 51.4 in August.

Separately, Eurostat reported that the euro zone's unemployment rate hit 12.0% last month, while the August rate was revised down to 12.0% from 12.1%. Analysts were expecting a 12.1% September unemployment rate, which gave the single currency support.�

USD/JPY dropped 0.09% to 97.94 after the Bank of Japan said Japan's monetary base rose to 46.1% lat month from 42% in August. Analysts expected a September reading of 45.3%.�

News of the U.S. government shutdown, spurred by lawmakers' unwillingness to compromise on the Affordable Healthcare Act, triggered lower risk appetite. Under the shutdown, non-essential offices and services will be temporarily halted while essential operations, such as defense and healthcare services, will carry on.�

Analysts estimate that the shutdown could shave off 0.1% of overall economic growth each day. This is based on the previous government shutdowns that occurred in the mid-90s, during the Clinton administration.�

GBP/USD slipped 0.19% to 1.6166 while USD/CHF rose 0.23% to 0.9078. USD/CAD climbed 0.18% to 1.0346 as oil futures trade lower. In U.S. economic news out Tuesday, the ISM manufacturing PMI rose from 55.7 to 56.2 in August, outpacing the consensus at 55.3.�

AUD/USD lost 0.24% to 0.9376 after the Australian Bureau of Statistics said building approvals there fell 4.7% last week following a 10.2% gain in the prior week. The previous week's figure was revised lower from a gain of 10.8%. Analysts expected last week's number to drop 2%.�

Separately, the Statistics Bureau said Australia had a trade deficit of AUD815 million in August compared with a July deficit of AUD1.375 billion. Economists expected an August deficit of AUD450 million.�

NZD/USD dropped 0.58% to 0.8229 while the U.S. Dollar Index added 0.11% to 80.36.
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