The US Dollar made advances against all major currencies, before the release of US reports which are expected to show an increase in employment and a growth in the services industry.
The Euro-USD exchange rate fell by 0.1344 percent to 1.4806. The USD-JPY exchange rate fell by 0.0513 percent to its value of 80.8975.
The Dollar Index, which measures the value of the US Dollar against a basket of six other major currencies, rose from 73.124 to 73.126. Employment in the US increased by 198,000 workers in April, whereas the Institute of for Supply Management’s index for non-manufacturing companies increased from 57.3 to 57.5 in April. With the US economy appearing to be improving, the dollar appreciated against major currencies as the demand for USD denominated assets increased.
Furthermore, the Chinese Central Bank has announced that controlling inflation is their biggest priority, which signals a possible increase in the interest rates and a tightening on the bank reserves. These moves would signal an economic slowdown in the People’s Republic, and it led to Asian stocks registering slight losses. In contrast, the US Dollar made advances because it became more attractive as compared to the Asian currencies.
Meanwhile, the AUD-JPY exchange rate was at 88.4462.