By: Barbara Zigah
The U.S. Dollar remained under pressure in Asian trading today following the release of tepid economic data from the United States which is seen by many as evidence that the pace of the economic recovery is slowing. The U.S. Dollar Index, a measure of the greenback’s strength against a weighted basket of major currencies, slipped to 82.364 .DXY, a decline of .2%. As reported at 2:07 p.m. (JST) in Tokyo, the U.S. Dollar slipped against the safe-haven Japanese Yen, falling at one point to 86.97 Yen before rebounding to 87.22 Yen, a loss in the session of .2%. Analysts suggest, however, that they foresee limited weakening of the greenback versus other currencies, especially the Euro, believing that, in the long term, the U.S. Dollar will benefit from its relative safe-haven status.
Meanwhile, the common currency Euro was trading flat at $1.2935 in the Asian session; yesterday it rallied 1.6% against the U.S. Dollar to $1.2955, the highest price in nearly 2-months. Since June 7th, the common currency has gained nearly 8% against the U.S. Dollar, as investor focus turns from the Euro-zone problems to the U.S. economic recovery.