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Dollar remains close to multi-year highs vs. other majors

Published 12/19/2014, 10:32 AM
Updated 12/19/2014, 10:32 AM
Dollar trades near 5-year peak vs. rivals in thin trade

Dollar trades near 5-year peak vs. rivals in thin trade

Investing.com - The dollar remained close to five-year highs against the other major currencies in thin trade on Friday, as Thursday's U.S. jobless claims data and the Federal Reserve's most recent policy statement continued to support demand for the greenback.

The dollar remained supported after the U.S. Department of Labor reported on Thursday that the number of individuals filing for initial jobless benefits in the week ending December 12 fell by 6,000 to 289,000 from the previous week’s revised total of 295,000.

The data came a day after the Fed said it would be "patient" before raising rates, guidance which it said is consistent with earlier assurances statement that rates would stay low "for a considerable time."

The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of six major currencies, was up 0.18% to 89.61, not far from last week's five-year high of 89.78.

The dollar rose close to a 19-month peak against the Swiss franc, with USD/CHF adding 0.14% to 0.9814, while EUR/CHF held steady at 1.2037.

On Thursday, the Swiss National Bank introduced a negative exchange rate of -0.25% on sight deposit account balances and reiterated its commitment to maintaining the minimum exchange rate of CHF 1.20 per euro.

EUR/USD slipped 0.18% to trade near two-year lows at 1.2264 even as data earlier showed that the Gfk German consumer climate index rose to a six-month high of 9.0 in December from a reading of 8.7 the previous month. Analysts had expected the index to tick up to 8.9 this month.

USD/JPY was up 0.45% to 119.40 after the Bank of Japan said it will boost its monetary base at an annual pace of ¥80 trillion.

The Russian ruble was higher, with USD/RUB dropping 4.30% to 59.35, recovering from record lows hit on Tuesday after a surprise interest rate hike failed to ease selling pressure on the currency from falling oil and western sanctions.

The pound edged down, with GBP/USD slipping 0.19% to 1.5641. Earlier Friday, the Office for National Statistics reported that U.K. public sector net borrowing rose by £13.41 billion last month, compared to expectations for an increase of £15.37 billion.

Separately, the Confederation of British Industry said its index of realized sales climbed to a 26-year high of 61 this month from 27 in November, blowing bast expectations for an increase to 30.

The Australian dollar was lower, with AUD/USD edging down 0.11% to 0.8155, while NZD/USD added 0.10% to trade at 0.7769.

Meanwhile, USD/CAD gained 0.30% to 1.1613, down from a nearly five-year high of 1.1630 hit earlier in the session. Statistics Canada reported on Friday that consumer price inflation fell 0.4% in November, confounding expectations for a 0.1% downtick, after a 0.1% rise in October.

Core CPI, which excludes the eight most volatile items, slipped 0.2% last month, disappointing expectations for a 0.1% gain, after a 0.3% rise in October.

A separate report showed that Canadian retail sales were flat in October, beating expectations for a 0.2% fall, after an increase of 0.8% the previous month.

Core retail sales, which exclude automobiles, rose 0.2% in October, compared to expectations for a 0.1% gain, after a flat reading in September.

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