Forex – Dollar Holds Steady With Eyes on Fed Replacement
Investing.com – The dollar held steady against other major counterparts on Thursday, off the previous session’s more than one-week highs sparked by speculation surrounding the next head of the Federal Reserve, as investors eyed upcoming U.S. economic reports.
The greenback had strengthened broadly following reports earlier in the week that U.S. President Donald Trump was favoring Stanford economist John Taylor to replace Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen next year. Taylor is seen as more hawkish than current Yellen.
But the dollar turned lower after data on Wednesday showed that U.S. housing starts hit a one-year low in September, while building permits also slumped.
Market participants were looking ahead to reports in U.S. jobless claims and manufacturing activity due later in the day for further indications on the strength of the economy.
EUR/USD added 0.11% to 1.1800, while GBP/USD held steady at 1.3205 ahead of UK retail sales data expected later Thursday.
The yen was lower, with USD/JPY up 0.09% at 113.04, just off Wednesday’s more than one-week high of 113.09, while USD/CHF was little changed at 113.03.
Investors were eyeing Japan’s general election scheduled on Sunday. According to most polls, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s coalition is on track to secure a two-thirds majority.
The Australian dollar was fractionally higher, with AUD/USD up 0.08% at 0.7852, while NZD/USD tumbled 1.19% to 0.7065, the lowest since October 10.
Earlier in the day, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said that the number of employed peole increased by 19,800 in September, beating expectations for an increase of 15,000.
The unemployment rate ticked down to 5.5% last month from 5.6% in August.
Also Thursday, data showed that China’s gross domestic product expanded by 1.7% in the thid quarter, in line with expecations.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was steady at 93.25 by 02:15 a.m. ET (06:15 GMT), off Wednesday’s one-and-a-hald week high of 93.65.