U.S. Dollar Continues to Slip in Asia on Concerns of Additional Monetary Easing

By: Barbara Zigah

The U.S. Dollar, which has continued to struggle against major currencies over the past months, once again appears vulnerable to a further decline. In Asian trading today, as reported at 3:09 p.m. (JST), the greenback slipped .2% versus the Japanese Yen, trading at 83.65 Yen, the lowest trade in nearly a fortnight. Speculation that the U.S. Federal Reserve Bank may alter current policy to allow for further easing was brought about by yesterday’s unexpectedly higher decline in consumer confidence. According to the private research firm that conducted the survey, consumer sentiment slipped in September to 48.5, a significant drop from the August 53.2 index. While analysts had been expecting to see a decline, it was estimated that it would be nearer 52.9. The U.S. Dollar Index, which gauges the greenback’s strength versus a basket of currencies, also slipped, trading at 78.828 .DXY, a new 8-month trough.

Meanwhile, the common currency Euro has been holding steady against the U.S. Dollar, trading at $1.3589, near to the 5-month peak of $1.3596 struck on the EBS trading platform yesterday; Euro resistance is now pegged at $1.3692, the April high. According to data from Reuters, since the beginning of this 3rd quarter, the Euro rose nearly 11% against the greenback, on track for the largest quarterly percentile gain in nearly 8 years.

Barbara Zigah

After working on Wall Street, Barb began her second career as a freelance writer at Daily Forex, where the CEO recognized fresh, untapped potential and was willing to give her a try. She’s never looked back. Since then, she’s worked steadily as a freelance writer and editor in the financial services and Forex-related industry.