Article by ForexTime
In Asian trade today, the US dollar reversed its mild decline from the previous session. USDJPY rose to 107.87 yen. The pair had dipped to 106.83 yen in the US session on Monday after Fed Chair Janet Yellen was speaking in Philadelphia.
The odds of a rate hike from the US Federal Reserve next week have diminished. Yellen signaled that the Fed will hold off raising rates as she described Friday’s weak jobs report as disappointing and highlighted uncertainties ahead including Brexit concerns.
After a brief dip yesterday, the US dollar index was up 0.1 per cent today at 94.04, recouping its Monday move, while gold, which is sensitive to US interest rate expectations, also reversed course to be down 0.1 per cent at $1,244.19 an ounce.
The dollar’s decline on Monday helped support oil prices, but some of those gains had been eroded in Asian trading on Tuesday. Brent crude, the international benchmark, was down one-third of one per cent at $50.39 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate, the US marker, was down one-quarter of one per cent at $49.57.
In news this morning, the Reserve Bank of Australia’s announcement that it left its cash rate unchanged. The benchmark rate was kept at a record low of 1.75 per cent, as expected. However, the RBA’s language appeared to leave the door open to further easing, and many analysts expect a further cut in August. The Australian dollar strengthened 0.7 per cent to $0.7419 following the announcement.
Free Reports:
The British pound jumped as much as 1.5 per cent in late Asian session today, with no news or data around the move. GBPUSD spiked to $1.4659 from $1.4473, and was last at $1.4523. Sterling came under pressure on Monday following polls over the weekend showing those in favour of the UK leaving the UK were in the lead. The pound will likely remain volatile as there is huge uncertainty about the upcoming referendum on June 23.
ForexTime Ltd (FXTM) is an award winning international online forex broker regulated by CySEC 185/12 www.forextime.com