By Gina Lee
Investing.com – The dollar was flat on Wednesday morning in Asia, gaining back some of its earlier losses on the back of disappointing U.S. data.
August’s Conference Board (CB) consumer confidence index fell to 84.8, its lowest level since May 2014, with COVID-19-induced high unemployment contributing to the fall. The reading was much lower than forecast of 93, prepared by Investing.com, and was also lower than July’s reading of 91.7.
On the back Tuesday’s disappointment, data due to be released later in the day is expected to show that U.S. durable goods orders slowed down in July, with a 4.3% growth month-on-month forecasted for July. Orders grew by 7.6% month-on-month in June.
Attention is now focusing on U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, and his speech at Thursday’s Jackson Hole symposium, for guidance on the Fed's response to the figures.
The U.S. Dollar Index that tracks the greenback against a basket of other currencies inched up 0.05% to 93.062 by 10:15 PM ET (3:15 AM GMT).
But some investors argued that the measures announced by Powell will continue to contribute to a weaker dollar.
“I expect Powell to use forward guidance to send a dovish message that rates will remain low for a long time, which feeds into dollar weakness. You could say we are in a long-term correction of excessive dollar strength,” Minori Uchida, head of global market research at MUFG Bank, told Reuters.
The USD/JPY pair inched up 0.06% to 106.42.
The AUD/USD pair inched up 0.08% to 0.7199. But with the number of COVID-19 cases in Victoria state rising again, hitting 149 cases on Wednesday, the AUD is expected remain in a narrow range.
The NZD/USD pair edged up 0.18% to 0.6558.
The USD/CNY pair edged down 0.10% to 6.9048, with markets continuing to monitor U.S-China ties after U.S. and Chinese officials affirmed the phase one trade deal on Monday.
The GBP/USD pair inched down 0.06% to 1.3142. Investors will also be keeping an eye on Brexit trade negotiations between the U.K. and the European Union, which have so far seen a lack of progress.