Dollar mostly higher amid bargain-hunting

Dollar mostly higher amid bargain-hunting

Submitted by caseyb23 on Fri, 07/12/2013 - 04:46

Investing.com – The U.S. dollar traded higher against most of its major rivals during Friday's Asian as traders in the region seized the chance to accumulate long greenback positions at favorable prices a day after the U.S. currency was hammered by Federal Reserve comments.�

In Asian trading Friday, EUR/USD inched down 0.01% to 1.3097 after Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke said Wednesday evening that the U.S. economy still requires highly accommodative monetary policies just hours after the release of the minutes from the Fed's June monetary policy meeting, which revealed other U.S. central bankers felt likewise.�

USD/JPY rose 0.15% to 99.13 a day after the conclusion of the Bank of Japan meeting. As expected, BoJ made no alterations to its already massive easing program, but analysts remain bearish on the yen. Just this week, Credit Suisse said it sees USD/JPY trading up to 120 in the next 12 months while Commerzbank unveiled a year-end target of 115 for the pair.�

The BoJ also upgraded its assessment of the economy, saying it is starting to moderately recover. Japan is the world's third-largest economy behind the U.S. and China.�

GBP/USD nudged down 0.04% to 1.5179 while USD/CHF inched up 0.01% to 0.9472. USD/CAD rose 0.09% to 1.0379 after the International Energy Administration said non-OPEC producers will contribute enough supply this year and in 2014 to outpace demand growth. The IEA expects non-OPEC producers to pump 1.3 million more barrels per day this year. Its previous forecast was an increase of 1.2 million barrels per day.�

In U.S. economic news out Thursday, the U.S. Labor Department said initial claims for jobless benefits rose to 360,000 last week, the highest level in two months. Economists expected a reading of 340,000 claims. The less volatile four-week moving average rose 6,000 last week to 351,750. That is the first time since June the four-week average was above 350,000.�

A separate report showed that U.S. import prices fell 0.2% on a yearly basis in June, above expectations for a 0.1% decline, while exports prices rose 0.2% year-over-year, undershooting expectations for a 0.4% rise.�

AUD/USD dropped 0.45% to 0.9150 while NZD/USD fell 0.25% to 0.7835. The U.S. Dollar Index rose 0.08% to 82.95.
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