U.S. Dollar Struggles for Traction

The U.S. Dollar Index, which investors use to gauge the greenback’s weight relative to its major peers, held close to a 4-month trough during the Asian trading session as investors debate whether or not the Federal Reserve Bank might tighten the reins on some of its existing stimulus measures. As reported at 10:11 a.m. (JST) in Tokyo, the Index traded at 80.936 .DXY, recovering slightly from 80.748 .DXY, a price last seen in February; since late May when the Index hit a 3-year peak at 84.498 .DXY, it has lost nearly 4% of its value. During the same session, the EUR/USD was trading at 1.3359, a 4-month low for the greenback, while the USD/JPY pair was trading lower at 95.13 Yen.

The greenback was also struggling against commodity currencies despite recent data which hinted at a slowdown in Chinese growth; the AUD/USD pair briefly traded higher at $0.9500, moving off the 33-month low that was hit on Tuesday. After peaking at $0.9522, the Aussie Dollar is currently trading lower at $0.9456 following the release of data on the labor situation there which was unexpectedly upbeat with the unemployment rate falling to 5.5% and the employment change showing 1,100 added against expectations of a loss of 10,000.