© Reuters. US dollar banknotes in an illustrative photo from Reuters archive.
SINGAPORE (Reuters) – The dollar pushed the yen further down on Thursday after the resilience of the US economy highlighted the need for interest rates to remain high for longer, while the Bank of Japan (the central bank) struggled to defend its ultra-loose stance on monetary policy.
The Australian dollar fell after the country’s employment rate fell unexpectedly in July while the unemployment rate rose more than expected.
The Australian dollar fell about 1 percent after the data was released and also affected its New Zealand counterpart.
And it recorded 146.565 against the dollar in early Asian trading, its lowest level since November, after renewed pressure on it as a result of interest rate differences between the United States and Japan.
And although most money markets expect the Federal Reserve (the US central bank) to keep interest rates unchanged in September, with some betting that the bank has already completed the monetary tightening cycle, a group of strong economic data recently reinforced The view that interest rates will remain at restrictive levels for a while.
Data on Wednesday showed a jump in the construction of single-family homes in the United States in July and an increase in permits for future construction, while an independent report revealed a surprising recovery in US factory production last month.
It fell 0.07% to $1.08695, while the pound fell 0.1% to $1.27195.
The Australian dollar lost 0.9%, recording $0.6365 after the employment data was released, while its New Zealand counterpart fell more than 0.5% to $0.5903. Both hit their lowest levels since November.
In foreign trade, it recorded its lowest level in nine months again at 7.3470 against the dollar.
It touched a two-month high of 103.59.
(Prepared by Mahmoud Abdel-Gawad for the Arabic Bulletin)
2023-08-17 02:41:00
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