The U.S. Dollar Index remained close to a 2½ week peak versus its major rivals in spite of a subdued trading session in the overnight hours following the closure of a number of financial markets for the Easter weekend. Economic data releases will be of the lighter weight variety with the Australian Conference Board reading among the most notable; that reading came out at 0.3% for February, a slight gain of the previous period’s 0.2%. Japan’s Leading Economic Index was also released and the reading edged lower to 108.9 from 111.3, and though lower still favorable for the Japanese Yen.
As reported at 11:32 a.m. (JST) in Tokyo, the U.S. Dollar Index traded at 79.963, gaining 0.2% in Monday’s session. The USD/JPY remained near to the recently struck 2-week peak of 102.72 and was trading at 102.63 Yen. The Japanese currency had been under some pressure after the recent release of economic news which showed that export growth there had slowed to the weakest level in a year, which could put pressure on the Bank of Japan to provide additional stimulus
ECB Watchers Await Draghi Comments
Later this week, markets will watch closely to Mario Draghi’s speech in order to gauge the European Central Bank’s readiness for additional liquidity in order to weaken the common currency. Analysts believe, however, that his rhetoric could undermine the Euro’s current relatively bullish sentiment. The EUR/USD pair was trading close to a 2-week trough at $1.3787.