Improved economic data and expectations that the Federal Reserve won’t be raising interest rates in the near future helped to revive investors’ risk appetite and pushed the U.S. Dollar higher versus the Japanese Yen. Last week, safe haven demand had been noticeably higher as concerns escalated about the slippage of global growth rates among the world’s largest economies. What gave investors some relief was news that consumer sentiment had improved in the U.S., as had housing sector data, together two very critical sectors, which suggested that the U.S. economy was continuing to grow on track.
The U.S. Dollar Index traded at 85.181 .DXY, a gain of 0.1% and moving away from last week’s low at 84.472 .DXY, a 3-week low. The USD/JPY also traded higher at 107.06 Yen, a gain of 0.2% from the low of 105.195 Yen struck last week. At the month of October opened, the greenback had been edging above the 110.00 Yen level, but has fallen back in the wake of investor jitters.
Antipodean Currencies Lifted
Commodity linked currencies such as the Aussie and Kiwi Dollars had also been under pressure on growth concerns, especially as it relates to China, but the latest optimism has helped the antipodean currencies to improve. The AUD/USD was trading at $0.8757, a gain of 0.2%, while the NZD/USD was trading at $0.7937, up 0.3%.