Investing.com - The dollar eased back from two-month highs against the yen on Thursday and trimmed gains against the euro after incoming Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen indicated that the bank will stick to its stimulus program for some time to come.
During U.S. morning trade, the dollar eased against the yen, with USD/JPY up 0.66% to 99.88 after rising as high as 100.14 earlier.
The dollar trimmed gains after Ms. Yellen said it was "imperative" that the Federal Reserve does everything in its power to ensure a robust recovery. She said the quantitative easing program would not continue indefinitely but the timescale for reducing it would be data dependent.
The comments came during a confirmation hearing in the U.S. Senate.
The yen weakened across the board earlier after Japanese Finance Minister Taro Aso said it is important for Japan to retain currency market intervention as a policy option to utilize in time of excess volatility in markets.
The euro recovered from session lows against the dollar, with EUR/USD down 0.09% to 1.3472 after falling as low as 1.3391 earlier.
The drop in the euro came after data showed that the euro zone recovery slowed more than expected in the third quarter.
Eurostat said the euro zone economy expanded by 0.1% in the three months to September, slowing from the 0.3% growth achieved in the second quarter when the euro zone exited a recession. Economist had forecast quarter-on-quarter growth of 0.2%.
The dollar was lower against the pound, with GBP/USD rising 0.19% to 1.6085 rebounding from session lows hit in the wake of unexpectedly weak U.K. retail sales data.
U.K. retail sales fell 0.7% in October and rose 1.8% on a year-over-year basis the Office for National Statistics said. Economists had forecast a monthly increase of 0.1% and an annual gain of 3.1%.
The dollar was higher against the Swiss franc, with USD/CHF easing up 0.15% to 0.9146.
The greenback was broadly higher against the Australian, New Zealand and Canadian dollars, with AUD/USD down 0.39% to 0.9320, NZD/USD dipping 0.04% to trade at 0.8285 and USD/CAD climbing 0.42% to 1.0499.
The Canadian dollar shrugged off data showing that the nation’s trade deficit narrowed to CAD0.44 billion in September from a deficit of CAD1.09 billion the previous month. Economists had expected the trade deficit to narrow to CAD1.0 billion.
The report said exports rose 1.8% in September, while imports were just 0.2% higher.
The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, edged down 0.02% to 80.99.
In the U.S., the Labor Department said Thursday that the number of individuals filing for initial jobless benefits last week declined by 2,000 to a seasonally adjusted 339,000. Analysts had expected U.S. jobless claims to fall by 11,000.
A separate report showed that the U.S. trade deficit widened to USD41.8 billion in September from a deficit of USD38.7 billion in August.
During U.S. morning trade, the dollar eased against the yen, with USD/JPY up 0.66% to 99.88 after rising as high as 100.14 earlier.
The dollar trimmed gains after Ms. Yellen said it was "imperative" that the Federal Reserve does everything in its power to ensure a robust recovery. She said the quantitative easing program would not continue indefinitely but the timescale for reducing it would be data dependent.
The comments came during a confirmation hearing in the U.S. Senate.
The yen weakened across the board earlier after Japanese Finance Minister Taro Aso said it is important for Japan to retain currency market intervention as a policy option to utilize in time of excess volatility in markets.
The euro recovered from session lows against the dollar, with EUR/USD down 0.09% to 1.3472 after falling as low as 1.3391 earlier.
The drop in the euro came after data showed that the euro zone recovery slowed more than expected in the third quarter.
Eurostat said the euro zone economy expanded by 0.1% in the three months to September, slowing from the 0.3% growth achieved in the second quarter when the euro zone exited a recession. Economist had forecast quarter-on-quarter growth of 0.2%.
The dollar was lower against the pound, with GBP/USD rising 0.19% to 1.6085 rebounding from session lows hit in the wake of unexpectedly weak U.K. retail sales data.
U.K. retail sales fell 0.7% in October and rose 1.8% on a year-over-year basis the Office for National Statistics said. Economists had forecast a monthly increase of 0.1% and an annual gain of 3.1%.
The dollar was higher against the Swiss franc, with USD/CHF easing up 0.15% to 0.9146.
The greenback was broadly higher against the Australian, New Zealand and Canadian dollars, with AUD/USD down 0.39% to 0.9320, NZD/USD dipping 0.04% to trade at 0.8285 and USD/CAD climbing 0.42% to 1.0499.
The Canadian dollar shrugged off data showing that the nation’s trade deficit narrowed to CAD0.44 billion in September from a deficit of CAD1.09 billion the previous month. Economists had expected the trade deficit to narrow to CAD1.0 billion.
The report said exports rose 1.8% in September, while imports were just 0.2% higher.
The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, edged down 0.02% to 80.99.
In the U.S., the Labor Department said Thursday that the number of individuals filing for initial jobless benefits last week declined by 2,000 to a seasonally adjusted 339,000. Analysts had expected U.S. jobless claims to fall by 11,000.
A separate report showed that the U.S. trade deficit widened to USD41.8 billion in September from a deficit of USD38.7 billion in August.