EUR/USD
Less than two years after ECB President Mario Draghi deemed it necessary to pledge unlimited support for the euro-area’s most-indebted countries, investors that rejected those markets through the debt crisis are turning back to them as the ECB considers expanding stimulus. Portugal’s borrowing costs fell to a nine-year low at a bill auction today and Greece, whose debt load triggered the region’s sovereign turmoil, sold bonds last week for the first time since March 2010., The dollar pared losses versus the euro as data showed U.S. industrial production rose more than forecast in March. Output at factories, mines and utilities climbed 0.7 percent after a revised 1.2 percent increase the prior month, euro rose to 1.3815.
GBP/USD
Britain’s unemployment rate dropped to a five-year low in February, underscoring the strength of the economic recovery and raising the prospect of a debate among Bank of England . The jobless rate measured by International Labour Organization methods dropped more than economists forecast to 6.9 percent in the three months through February from 7.2 percent in the quarter through January, the Office for National Statistics said in London today. The report also showed that wage growth accelerated in the period to 1.7 percent, matching the inflation rate in February. The pound strengthened. Jobless claims, a narrower measure of unemployment, fell 30,400 in March from the previous month, a 17th consecutive decline that was larger than forecast. In February, claims dropped 37,000, more than the 34,600 initially estimated. The pound approached a four-year high against the dollar after the U.K. unemployment rate fell more in the three months through February than analysts forecast, adding to signs the economy is gaining traction.
USD/JPY
The yen dropped the most in more than two weeks against the dollar as risk appetite swelled amid reports that showed U.S. industrial production rose and China’s economic growth slowed less than forecast, damping haven demand. The yen depreciated 0.3 percent to 102.27 per dollar , Dollar Spot Index fell from a one-week high as Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen said U.S. policy makers have a “continuing commitment” to support the economic recovery. Mexico’s peso climbed on the data from the U.S., the nation’s biggest trade partner. Japan’s currency sank as central-bank Governor Haruhiko Kuroda told parliament it wasn’t appropriate to discuss an exit from stimulus now. Stocks rose.
USD/CAD
The Canadian dollar dropped as central bank remained neutral on the direction of its next move. The currency weakened 0.4 percent to C$1.1018 per U.S. dollar. Canada’s currency was the biggest loser over the past six months among 10 developed-nation peers tracked by Bloomberg Correlation-Weighted Indexes, tumbling 7.2 percent. The euro gained 2.1 percent, while the dollar declined 0.3 percent. The yen was the second-worst performer, dropping 4 percent. The largest Canadian railroad’s ability to move wood products is gradually catching up with demand following extreme winter conditions in North America this year, Emily Hamer, a Vancouver-based CN spokeswoman, said today in a phone interview.
