Mubasher: US dollar declined for the fifth session on Thursday as worries over trade disputes eased, driving investors to move for riskier currencies, although thin month-end markets kept a lid on losses.
The greenback index stood at one-month low of 94.52 against its major peers, as some investors wagered a possible trade deal between the US and Canada would trim the pool of money that flocked to the US dollar recently on concerns that any escalation in trade conflict would buttress the currency.
By 10:31 am GMT, the US dollar index inched down 0.03% 94.5700.
The US and Canada were optimistic about reaching a new North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) by Friday, despite Ottawa said that a number of tricky issues remained.
“Despite volatile overnight markets in Asia, risk appetite in currencies is broadly on the mend as trade war concerns seem to be receding, which should pressure the dollar lower,” London-based Crédit Agricole foreign exchange (FX) strategist Manuel Oliveri told Thomson Reuters.
The sterling pound (GBP) was a top gainer on prospects that the UK and the European Union (EU) would agree on future trade relations before the Brexit come into effect.
On Wednesday, the The EU’s chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier said that the bloc is ready to offer an unprecedented partnership like “no other third country.”By 11:06 am GMT, the GBP/USD went down 0.07% to $1.3017.
The euro (EUR) remained steady against the green back above $1.17 on bets that a rising risk appetite would fuel the single currency. It saw gains by more than 3.5% over the last two weeks, recovering from a two-month trough.
At 11:10 am GMT, the EUR/USD pair fell 0.13% to $1.1692.
The Swedish krona (SEK) lost 0.21% against the US dollar to SEK 9.1824 at 11:13 am GMT, whereas the Swiss franc (CHF) went up 0.04% to CHF 0.8552.
It is worth noting that the US Labor Department is due to release its weekly report pertaining jobless claims later in the day, followed by the monthly the Bureau of Economic Analysis data on personal consumption expenditures (PCE) and consumer price index (CPI).
