The Aussie and Kiwi Dollars edged higher against the greenback, recouping earlier losses and helped by upbeat sentiment in global equity and commodity markets. Last week, both the Australian and New Zealand Dollars came under pressure and dropped to fresh long-term lows on reports over China’s economic growth; both countries rely heavily on trade with China for their own GDP measure. Most of the major currencies, i.e. the Euro, Japanese Yen and Pound Sterling, were marginally depressed which helped to elevate the Dollar Index by 0.1%.
As reported at 10:54 am (GMT) in London, the AUD/USD was trading at $0.7190, up 0.03%; the pair ranged from $0.7174 at the low end to $0.7219 at the high end. The NZD/USD was also higher at $0.6920, a gain of 0.36%; the pair had hit a session peak of $0.6933 earlier, while the daily low was at $0.6886. The USD/JPY was up at 117.672 Yen, the EUR/USD was lower at $1.0435, and the GBP/USD was down at $1.2231.
Dollar One to Watch says Analysts
Analysts are forecasting some additional gains for the USD Dollar into 2017, but express concern over how a Trump administration could react to a too strong Dollar. Some see it as a possible domestic issue for the President-elect given his rhetoric against an appreciating Chinese Yuan and a depreciating Japanese Yen, both of which were intentionally manipulated by their respective governments and central banks. The USD/JPY has gained about 16% since Trump was elected.