The U.S. Dollar rose against major currencies in today’s session, where disappointing GDP data from the U.K., in addition to better than expected consumer confidence in the United States provided the Dollar with some momentum to rise back against its major counterparts.
Meanwhile, stock markets dropped in Europe and the United States after U.S. companies reported disappointing earnings, which weighed down on overall confidence among investors, as they headed to low yielding assets.
The U.S. Dollar index, which measures the performance of the U.S. dollar against a basket of currencies including the Euro, the Pound, and the Yen, rose on daily basis to trade at 78.09, compared with the opening level at 77.92, while recording a high of 78.41 and a low of 77.82. Gold prices declined amid the dollar’s strength to reach $1332.25, compared with the opening level at $1337.66 an ounce, and oil prices declined to trade at $86.43, compared with the opening level at $87.59.
The Euro halted its gains against the Dollar as the pair was little changed today, where the EUR-USD pair is trading at $1.3637, compared with the opening level at $1.3643, while recording a high of $1.3687 and a low of $1.3572. The pair is now trading above the $1.3580 level, and so long it remains above this level, we should expect more upside movement and the target then will be the $1.3830 resistance level, however, if the pair drops below $1.3425, the upside scenario will be canceled.
The British Pound declined heavily today against the U.S. Dollar after the U.K. reported a slowdown in growth in the fourth quarter of 2010, where the GBP-USD pair is now trading at $1.5805, compared with the opening level at $1.5984, while the pair recorded a high of $1.6017 and a low of $1.5750. The pair is now trading below the important level at $1.5870 and so long it continues to trade below this level, the next target is set at $1.5730, however breaching the $1.5835 level to the upside would send the pair to the $1.5955 resistance level.
The U.S. Dollar declined against the Japanese Yen, where the USD-JPY pair is now trading at ¥82.31, compared with the opening level at ¥82.54, while recording a high of ¥82.66 and a low of ¥82.26. The pair is now trading below the ¥82.70 resistance level, which suggests that the way is open to reach the ¥81.05, but the pair must remain below ¥82.70 in order for this bearish scenario to continue, however, breaching the ¥82.70 to the upside would send the pair to the resistance level at ¥83.70.