US Trading News – Euro rises against greenback after weak US data

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The Euro has been trading mostly sideways against the greenback all day but managed to record a new high from yesterday, peaking at 1.4324, 55 pips higher than the New York session open price of 1.4270. Lows were recorded at 1.4219. The Euro was supported by a weakening US dollar, which was brought down by disappointing economic data released today on manufacturing in the mid-Atlantic region, suggesting that the US economy is still struggling to recover. Existing home sales were simultaneously released showing that the housing industry in the US is still weak.

Sterling extended gains against the greenback in the US session. In the earlier session, positive retail sales data were released higher than expected giving some brief hope for an improvement in the British economy which has until now only been reporting disappointing economic data. GBPUSD soon erased those gains as investors were reminded that the Bank of England will not be raising interest rates soon. Cable rebounded in the New York session hitting highs of 1.6219, aided by a weaker Dollar, gaining over 80 pips from the session low of 1.6138.

The overall trend for the Canadian Dollar this week has been up with a few dips in between, as oil prices have been edging up, and so aiding the commodities-linked Canadian Dollar. USDCAD during the US session has been volatile due to some economic data released on US employment, which made the USD spike against the Loonie from 0.9665 to 0.9712. The pair soon declined, allowing the Canadian Dollar to regain strength against the greenback.

The Swiss franc opened the US session lower against the US Dollar but soon regained strength as the day progressed. USDCHF peaked at 0.8878 then fell to as low as 0.8802, based on a weakening dollar from disappointing economic data on housing sales and manufacturing. The Swiss Franc is traditionally known to be a safe-haven investment in times of economic uncertainty.

Gold prices traded mostly in a range during most of the US session, after falling from earlier Asian session highs. Lows of $1,486.18 were touched halfway through New York trading, at around 11am CET. Then Spot gold rebounded to peak at $1,495.83. gold has been trading very volatile I the past two weeks as investors aren’t sure where the markets are heading, especially the US Dollar which has been affected by weak economic data, especially today, when falling housing sales and declining manufacturing data suggest a still fragile US economy.