The dollar is turning in a mixed performance against its major competitors Thursday afternoon. The U.S. currency is recovering from its losses against the Euro and the Japanese Yen and is nearly flat unchanged against the British pound.
Investors are eagerly awaiting Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen’s speech later today, at a University of Massachusetts event. Traders are hoping for additional clarity as to when the U.S. central bank plans to raise interest rates.
Following the data drought earlier this week, U.S. economic data was largely positive this morning. Weekly jobless claims increased less than anticipated, new home sales growth exceeded expectations and durable goods orders were in line with expectations. Investors can look forward to GDP and consumer sentiment on Friday.
Durable goods orders fell 2% in August, according to statistics released by the U.S. Department of Commerce on Thursday. This matched the expectation of economists. Durable goods orders were down for the first time in three months, as the strong dollar and lackluster global economy hurt demand for big-ticket items from the U.S., particularly jets.
The number of people filing first-time unemployment claims edged up less than expected for the latest week, according to government data released on Thursday. This left the figure just off its recent lows.
The U.S. Department of Labor said initial jobless claims, a measure of the number of first-time unemployment filings, came in at 267,000 for the week ended September 19. This was up 3,000 from the previous week’s figure of 264,000. Economists had expected the figure to come in at 275,000.
U.S. new home sales continued to surge in August, as buyers took advantage of low interest rates and better employment. New home sales rose 5.7% at an annual rate of 552,000 in August, according to the Census Bureau.
Economists were forecasting that new-home sales rose only 1.6% last month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 515,000.
The dollar dropped to a 3-session low of $1.1295 against the Euro Thursday, but has since bounced back to around $1.1225.
Germany’s consumer confidence is likely to weaken in October, survey data from market research group GfK showed Thursday. The forward-looking consumer sentiment index dropped to 9.6 in October from 9.9 in September. It was forecast to ease marginally to 9.8.
German business sentiment improved unexpectedly in September, reports said citing data from the Munich-based Ifo Institute on Thursday. The Ifo Business Climate Index rose to 108.5 in September from 108.3 in August. It was forecast to fall to 107.9.
French business confidence reached its highest level in more than four years in September, survey data from the statistical office Insee showed Thursday. The business sentiment index for manufacturers improved to 104 in September from 103 in August. This was the highest score since August 2011, the Insee said. Economists had forecast the indicator to remain unchanged at 103.
The buck slipped to a low of $1.5288 against the pound sterling Thursday, but has since climbed back to around $1.5230, nearly unchanged on the day.
U.K. mortgage approvals rose to its highest level since early 2014 in August, British Bankers’ Association reported Thursday. The number of mortgage approvals rose to 46,743 in August from 46,315 in July. This was the highest since February 2014, when it totaled 47,581.
The greenback fell to a 4-session low of Y119.221 against the Japanese Yen, but has since rebounded to around Y119.870.
Japan’s all industry activity increased for the second straight month in July, defying economists’ expectations to remain flat, figures from the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry showed Thursday.
The all industry activity index rose a seasonally adjusted 0.2 percent month-over-month in July, slower than the 0.5 percent climb in June, revised up from 0.3 percent. Economists had expected the index to remain flat during the month.
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