The Euro had edged above the $1.10 level on Thursday, as FX traders still consider abandoning ship on the US Dollar. In the past month, the US Dollar had surged nearly 5% against the Euro, but this week its positive momentum has faded, with analysts expressing some wariness that the year-long rally might be finally reaching the end of its course. Even in spite of the strong likelihood that the Federal Reserve Bank seems set to raise interest rates, currency strategists believe that likelihood has already been largely factored in.
As reported at 11:26 am (BDT) in London, the EUR/USD was trading at $1.0933, a gain of 0.60%, moving away from the session low of $1.0921 and back toward the day’s high of $1.1005. Against the Japanese Yen, the dollar was lower with the USD/JPY pair trading at 123.81 Yen, a loss of 0.12%.
Kiwi Lifted by RBNZ Surprise
Among currencies, the New Zealand Dollar experienced the highest movement, with a 1.5% rise after the Reserve Bank of New Zealand lowered interest rates to 3% from 3.25%; some FX traders had been hopeful that the cut would be larger given the RBNZ’s recent rhetoric. The Kiwi Dollar had recently struck a 6-year trough and though the RBNZ had said that they were attempting to weaken the currency, it seems that that kind of weakening was too much to bear. The NZD/USD was trading at $0.6687, a gain of 0.70% and well off the session high of $0.6696.
