TOKYO (Reuters) – The U.S. dollar fell against the Antipodean currencies and the British pound after surprising improvement in U.S. labour market data bolstered expectations for economic recovery, which reduced safe-harbour demand for the greenback.
The Australian and New Zealand dollars both rose to their strongest since January after data showed a smaller-than-expected fall in Chinese exports, which supports commodity currencies.
In contrast, the U.S. dollar traded near its highest in more than two months against the yen, supported by recent gains in long-term Treasury yields as investors await the outcome of a two-day U.S. Federal Reserve meeting ending on Wednesday.
Sentiment has improved dramatically in the currency market as traders look for signs of a rebound from the coronavirus outbreak as economies reopen from lockdowns, which has hurt the dollar and driven money into so-called risk-on trades.
“Commodities and emerging market currencies are clearly finding it easier to rise against the dollar on hopes of economic recovery, but it is a different story when it comes to the yen,” said Junichi Ishikawa, senior foreign exchange strategist at IG Securities in Tokyo.
“For dollar/yen the focus is more on yields, which is pushing the currency pair higher.”
Japan’s economy shrank less than initially estimated in the first quarter, revised data showed earlier on Monday, but the yen took the data in its stride.
The Australian dollar traded at $0.6965, close to its firmest since Jan. 2.
The New Zealand dollar rose to $0.6537, the highest since Jan. 29, before settling at $0.6512.
New Zealand’s Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said on Monday that all coronavirus measures in the country will be lifted from Tuesday, barring border closure restrictions, as the virus had been eliminated from the country.
Against the pound , the dollar fell 0.25% to $1.2702 on Monday, close to its lowest since March 12.
The dollar traded at 109.48 yen , close to a two-month high set on Friday.
Underpinning sentiment was a surprising recovery in U.S. employment in May after the economy suffered record job losses in April, data showed on Friday.
Some investors may avoid making big trades before the Federal Reserve meeting ending on Wednesday to see how Chairman Jerome Powell views a recent rise in 10-year Treasury yields and a steepening in the yield curve.
The onshore yuan was little changed at 7.0862 per dollar after exports from China, the world’s second-largest economy, fell less in May than the market expected, data showed on Sunday.
The pandemic first emerged in China late last year and has caused a sharp contraction in global economic activity, but many traders are now focused on the pace of recovery in the second half of this year.
Some analysts said there are still many risks to the outlook, including any second wave of infections, diplomatic tensions between the United States and China, and the U.S. presidential election later this year.
The euro traded at $1.1290 on Monday. The common currency is riding a wave of optimism after the European Central Bank said last week it will increase bond purchases to help the bloc’s weakest economies.
Sentiment will face a test later on Monday with the release of data forecast to show that German industrial output fell the most on record in April.
(Editing by Christopher Cushing, Jacqueline Wong and Kim Coghill)
TORONTO – Strength in the base metal and technology sectors helped Canada’s main stock index gain almost 100 points on Friday, while U.S. stock markets also climbed higher.
The S&P/TSX composite index closed up 93.51 points at 23,568.65.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 297.01 points at 41,393.78. The S&P 500 index was up 30.26 points at 5,626.02, while the Nasdaq composite was up 114.30 points at 17,683.98.
The Canadian dollar traded for 73.61 cents US compared with 73.58 cents US on Thursday.
The October crude oil contract was down 32 cents at US$68.65 per barrel and the October natural gas contract was down five cents at US$2.31 per mmBTU.
The December gold contract was up US$30.10 at US$2,610.70 an ounce and the December copper contract was up four cents US$4.24 a pound.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
OTTAWA – Statistics Canada says wholesale sales, excluding petroleum, petroleum products, and other hydrocarbons and excluding oilseed and grain, rose 0.4 per cent to $82.7 billion in July.
The increase came as sales in the miscellaneous subsector gained three per cent to reach $10.5 billion in July, helped by strength in the agriculture supplies industry group, which rose 9.2 per cent.
The food, beverage and tobacco subsector added 1.7 per cent to total $15 billion in July.
The personal and household goods subsector fell 2.5 per cent to $12.1 billion.
In volume terms, overall wholesale sales rose 0.5 per cent in July.
Statistics Canada started including oilseed and grain as well as the petroleum and petroleum products subsector as part of wholesale trade last year, but is excluding the data from monthly analysis until there is enough historical data.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
TORONTO – Canada’s main stock index was up more than 150 points in late-morning trading, helped by strength in the base metal and energy sectors, while U.S. stock markets were mixed.
The S&P/TSX composite index was up 172.18 points at 23,383.35.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 34.99 points at 40,826.72. The S&P 500 index was up 10.56 points at 5,564.69, while the Nasdaq composite was up 74.84 points at 17,470.37.
The Canadian dollar traded for 73.55 cents US compared with 73.59 cents US on Wednesday.
The October crude oil contract was up $2.00 at US$69.31 per barrel and the October natural gas contract was up five cents at US$2.32 per mmBTU.
The December gold contract was up US$40.00 at US$2,582.40 an ounce and the December copper contract was up six cents at US$4.20 a pound.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
