Dollar Gains as Safe Havens Retreat

The US Dollar was able to make some headway against the Japanese Yen, fueled by better than expected earnings reports on Wall Street which helped to shift the market's earlier safe haven sentiment. After last week's two-day rout on Wall Street, the three major indices were able to recoup some of those losses, each gaining at least 2%. Fundamental data also helped to push the USD/JPY higher, with September's industrial production figures showing a gain for the fourth consecutive month.

As reported at 11:03 am (JST) in Tokyo, the USD/JPY was trading higher at 112.3561 Yen, up 0.061%; the pair earlier hit a peak of 112.420 Yen, while the low was recorded at 112.279 Yen. The USD/CHF was also higher at 0.99083 Swiss Francs, a gain of 0.0757%; the pair has ranged from 0.99009 Swiss Francs to 0.99112 Swiss Francs.

Markets to Focus on Fed Minutes

Later today, markets will turn their attention to the release of the US Federal Reserve meeting minutes from September. FX players are hopeful that the minutes will provide some direction as to the interest rate environment, specifically whether another rate hike will be forthcoming this year. Markets are pricing in a 77% probability that the Fed could announce another rate increase at December's meeting.

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.