Investing.com - The dollar rose to fresh two-month highs against the yen on Thursday and the euro fell to session lows after data showed that the economic recovery in the euro zone slowed more than expected in the third quarter.
During European late morning trade, USD/JPY advanced 0.75% to 99.97, the highest since September 11.
The yen slid after Japanese Finance Minister Taro Aso said Thursday it is important for Japan to retain currency market intervention as a policy option to utilize in time of excess volatility in markets.
The dollar received an additional boost after data showed that Japan’s economy grew by 0.5% in the third quarter, beating forecasts for growth of 0.4%, but the annual rate of growth slowed to 1.9%, down sharply from the 4.3% expansion in the second quarter.
Investors were turning their attention to Thursday’s Senate hearing to confirm Janet Yellen as the first chairwoman of the Federal Reserve following dovish remarks on Wednesday.
In a prepared statement released late Wednesday, Yellen said the job market and economy are "performing far short of their potential" and there is "more work to do" on recovery.
Elsewhere, the euro fell to session lows against the dollar, with EUR/USD down 0.41% to 1.3429.
The drop in the euro came after 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 euro zone economy contracted at an annual rate of 0.4% in the third quarter, worse than expectations for a 0.3% contraction, after shrinking at an annual rate of 0.6% in the previous quarter.
The dollar was also higher against the pound, with GBP/USD down 0.33% to 1.6001 after 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 gained ground against the Swiss franc, with USD/CHF rising 0.55% to 0.9183.
The greenback was broadly higher against the Australian, New Zealand and Canadian dollars, with AUD/USD down 0.74% to 0.9288, NZD/USD losing 0.61% to trade at 0.8237 and USD/CAD climbing 0.39% to 1.0497.
The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was up 0.29% to 81.24.
During European late morning trade, USD/JPY advanced 0.75% to 99.97, the highest since September 11.
The yen slid after Japanese Finance Minister Taro Aso said Thursday it is important for Japan to retain currency market intervention as a policy option to utilize in time of excess volatility in markets.
The dollar received an additional boost after data showed that Japan’s economy grew by 0.5% in the third quarter, beating forecasts for growth of 0.4%, but the annual rate of growth slowed to 1.9%, down sharply from the 4.3% expansion in the second quarter.
Investors were turning their attention to Thursday’s Senate hearing to confirm Janet Yellen as the first chairwoman of the Federal Reserve following dovish remarks on Wednesday.
In a prepared statement released late Wednesday, Yellen said the job market and economy are "performing far short of their potential" and there is "more work to do" on recovery.
Elsewhere, the euro fell to session lows against the dollar, with EUR/USD down 0.41% to 1.3429.
The drop in the euro came after 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 euro zone economy contracted at an annual rate of 0.4% in the third quarter, worse than expectations for a 0.3% contraction, after shrinking at an annual rate of 0.6% in the previous quarter.
The dollar was also higher against the pound, with GBP/USD down 0.33% to 1.6001 after 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 gained ground against the Swiss franc, with USD/CHF rising 0.55% to 0.9183.
The greenback was broadly higher against the Australian, New Zealand and Canadian dollars, with AUD/USD down 0.74% to 0.9288, NZD/USD losing 0.61% to trade at 0.8237 and USD/CAD climbing 0.39% to 1.0497.
The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was up 0.29% to 81.24.