By: Barbara Zigah
Following a second day of Congressional testimony by Ben Bernanke, the Federal Reserve Chairman, as well as the release of mixed U.S. corporate earnings results, the U.S. Dollar fell broadly in Asian trading, nearing a 7-week low versus the single currency Euro and slipping against a basket of six major currencies. As reported at 7:47 (BST) in London, the U.S. Dollar slipped to $1.4242, a loss of .3% versus the Euro and off $1.4278 touched upon earlier this week, the lowest trade since the beginning of last month. The U.S. Dollar Index, a gauge of the greenback’s performance versus other currencies, slipped slightly to 78.729 .DXY, very near 78.563 .DXY, a 7-week low touched on yesterday.
The Japanese Yen also fared poorly against most currencies as risk appetite has been increasing, despite the mixed corporate results. The Yen fell to 94.28 Yen versus the U.S. Dollar, a decline of .7%. Investors are moving into higher yielding currencies such as the Australian and N.Z. Dollars and the Pound Sterling, all of which gained more than 1% against the Japanese Yen, as well as gains of .4% versus the U.S. Dollar.
USD and JPY slide on mixed corporate results, improved risk appetite
Barbara Zigah