© Reuters. The dollar is stabilizing, the euro awaits ECB
Investing.com – The dollar has stabilized on Thursday, relative to other major currencies, concerns about the prospects of a trade war world is calming, while the euro was little changed as the markets were awaiting a meeting of the european central Bank later in the day.
The dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a basket of six major currencies, was at 89.55 at 03:31 AM (08:31 AM GMT), surpassing Wednesday, the lowest in two weeks 89,36.
Worries about trade tensions eased overnight after the White House has indicated that a number of countries, including Mexico and Canada, could be exempted from import duties impending on the steel and the aluminum.
This soothes the fears about the prospect of an order of the day more protectionist in terms of trade in the United States, which had been fuelled by the resignation of the chief economic adviser to the president, Donald Trump, Gary Cohn.
Trump had to sign a presidential proclamation to establish the rates later in the day. Investors fear that the proposed rates do not cause inflation and do not cause retaliation from trading partners with the americans.
Markets remained cautious, waiting to see the reaction of other countries in the days to come.
The dollar also received a boost after strong data on hiring in the private sector, who stressed on Wednesday that the continued strength of the labour market.
The dollar was slightly weaker against the yen, with USD / JPY sliding 0.14% to 105,93, after having fallen to 105,44 the day before.
The euro was stable, with EUR / USD trading at 1,2403, is now below the highest of the 1,2444 reached Wednesday before the ECB’s decision later Thursday.
We do not expect that the central bank brings changes to the monetary policy, but investors are waiting for indications that it is approaching the end of its stimulus program of massive later in the year.
The british pound was little changed against the dollar, with the GBP / USD 1.3897.
The canadian dollar was stable against the greenback, with the USD / CAD 1,2906. The pair has reached a high of 1.3000 on Wednesday, before recovering on news according to which the prices of Trump could exempt Canada.
