The U.S. dollar strengthened against the other major currencies in European deals on Thursday, as traders await the second estimate of U.S. GDP data for the second quarter, due later in the day, for more cues about the strength of economy.
The Commerce Department is scheduled to release the preliminary second quarter GDP report at 8:30 am ET. Economists expect the growth to be upwardly revised to 3.2 percent from the advance estimate of 2.3 percent.
The Labor Department is due to release its jobless claims report for the week ended August 22nd at the same time. Economists expect jobless claims to have declined to 270,000 from 277,000 in the previous week.
The National Association of Realtors will release its report on pending home sales for July at 10 am ET. The consensus estimate calls for a 1 percent month-over-month increase in pending home sales.
The annual economic symposium in Jackson, Wyoming gets underway today, with global economic and financial leaders due to be present in full attendance. The Fed Chair Janet Yellen will not attend the symposium, but the Federal Reserve Vice Chairman Stanley Fischer is scheduled to speak in place of her.
The dollar was on a firmer footing on Wednesday, benefited by the surprise increase in durable goods orders and comments from the New York Fed President William Dudley.
The Federal Reserve may delay hiking interest rates until at least December. The case for a rate hike in September is “less compelling” given problems with the global economy and plunging stocks, said William Dudley, the president of the New York Fed, on Wednesday.
Yesterday, the greenback rose 0.9 percent against the yen, 1.65 percent against the franc, 1.8 percent against the euro and 1.45 percent against the pound.
The greenback showed mixed trading in the previous session. While the currency rose against the franc, it dropped against the rest of major rivals.
In European deals, the greenback appreciated to 1.5432 against the pound, its strongest since August 7, and was up by 0.16 percent from Wednesday’s closing value of 1.5457. If the greenback extends rise, 1.535 is possibly seen as its next resistance level.
Data from Nationwide Building Society showed that U.K. house price inflation eased to a more than two-year low in August.
House prices rose 3.2 percent year-on-year in August, slower than the 3.5 percent increase seen in July. Nonetheless, it was faster than the expected 3.1 percent increase.
The greenback advanced to 0.9550 against the Swiss franc, compared to 0.9543 hit at Wednesday’s close. On the upside, the greenback is likely to test resistance around the 0.965 area.
The greenback spiked up to a 6-day high of 1.1274 against the euro, reversing from an early low of 1.1366. The next possible resistance for the greenback may be located around the 1.10 mark. At yesterday’s close, the pair was valued at 1.1310.
Figures from Destatis showed that Germany’s import prices declined at a faster than expected pace in July.
The import price index fell 1.7 percent year-over-year in July, faster than June’s 1.4 percent decline. Economists had expected the same 1.4 percent drop for the month.
The greenback climbed to a 3-day high of 120.54 against the yen at 3:30 am ET, and held steady thereafter. Further uptrend may take the greenback to a resistance around the 121.00 region. The pair was valued at 119.91 at yesterday’s close.
Looking ahead, at 11:30 am ET, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini, European Commission Vice President Maros Sefcovic, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development President Sir Suma Chakrabarti and prime ministers of Italy, Serbia, Slovenia, Croatia and Albania are expected to attend Western Balkans Summit in Vienna.
The material has been provided by InstaForex Company – www.instaforex.com