Investing.com - The U.S. dollar traded higher against most of its major rivals during Tuesday’s Asian session as fears the Federal Reserve, which last week said it will not taper its quantitative easing program, could still do so before the end of the year.
In Asian trading Tuesday, EUR/USD was flat at 1.3494 after European Central Bank President Mario Draghi said the ECB and other monetary authorities are willing to buffer ailing euro zone banks against rising interest rates.
Elsewhere, data released earlier showed that the euro zone preliminary manufacturing purchasing managers’ index fell to 51.1 in September from a final reading of 51.4 in August. Analysts were expecting the index to rise to 51.8.
The euro zone services PMI rose to 52.1, its highest level since June 2011, from 50.7 in August and well above expectations for a reading of 51.1.
Germany’s manufacturing PMI fell to 51.3 in September from a final reading of 51.8 in August, defying expectations for an improvement to 52.2. The German services PMI rose to a seven month high of 54.4 from a reading of 52.8 in August. Analysts were expecting the index to tick up to 53.1 Germany is the euro zone’s largest economy.
USD/JPY fell 0.12% to 98.75 after Federal Reserve Bank of New York President William Dudley said the Fed will hold back on tapering until the U.S. economic recovery proves sustainable.
Easing programs usually depress currencies, explaining why the yen is stronger against the greenback after Dudley’s comments.
GBP/USD fell 0.07% to 1.6034 on what appears to be some profit-taking in sterling, which has been one of the best-performing developed market currencies against the greenback in recent months.
USD/CHF inched down 0.01% to 0.9108 while USD/CAD nudged higher by 0.04% to 1.0289. The greenback is still somewhat support by comments made last Friday by St. Louis Fed President James Bullard who said Friday the decision not to taper in September was “close” and indicated that there could be a small reduction in bond purchases in October.
AUD/USD dropped 0.26% to 0.9407 while NZD/USD slipped 0.61% to 0.8324. Both the Aussie and the kiwi fell a day after surprisingly strong PMI data out of China.
The U.S. Dollar Index was flat at 80.59.
In Asian trading Tuesday, EUR/USD was flat at 1.3494 after European Central Bank President Mario Draghi said the ECB and other monetary authorities are willing to buffer ailing euro zone banks against rising interest rates.
Elsewhere, data released earlier showed that the euro zone preliminary manufacturing purchasing managers’ index fell to 51.1 in September from a final reading of 51.4 in August. Analysts were expecting the index to rise to 51.8.
The euro zone services PMI rose to 52.1, its highest level since June 2011, from 50.7 in August and well above expectations for a reading of 51.1.
Germany’s manufacturing PMI fell to 51.3 in September from a final reading of 51.8 in August, defying expectations for an improvement to 52.2. The German services PMI rose to a seven month high of 54.4 from a reading of 52.8 in August. Analysts were expecting the index to tick up to 53.1 Germany is the euro zone’s largest economy.
USD/JPY fell 0.12% to 98.75 after Federal Reserve Bank of New York President William Dudley said the Fed will hold back on tapering until the U.S. economic recovery proves sustainable.
Easing programs usually depress currencies, explaining why the yen is stronger against the greenback after Dudley’s comments.
GBP/USD fell 0.07% to 1.6034 on what appears to be some profit-taking in sterling, which has been one of the best-performing developed market currencies against the greenback in recent months.
USD/CHF inched down 0.01% to 0.9108 while USD/CAD nudged higher by 0.04% to 1.0289. The greenback is still somewhat support by comments made last Friday by St. Louis Fed President James Bullard who said Friday the decision not to taper in September was “close” and indicated that there could be a small reduction in bond purchases in October.
AUD/USD dropped 0.26% to 0.9407 while NZD/USD slipped 0.61% to 0.8324. Both the Aussie and the kiwi fell a day after surprisingly strong PMI data out of China.
The U.S. Dollar Index was flat at 80.59.