The US dollar continued to make gains in the Asian trading session following on from yesterday’s strong North American session. Fueling the rise in the USD was a better than expected US Jobless Claims data which saw the number of Americans filing for jobless benefits down to a 44-year low.
Strong Jobs Data
The rise of the greenback continued into the Asian trading session with the US Dollar receiving strong backing from investors. Yesterday’s positive jobs data sent the US Dollar higher, rising from an intraday low of $92.92. The US Dollar gained further after the U.S. Senate approved a budget blueprint for the fiscal year of 2018 which should enable the Republicans to continue with a tax-cut package without the support of the Democrats.
Philly Fed Manufacturing Index
Also offering a boost to the US dollar and providing further confirmation that the Fed may raise interest rates in December was positive Manufacturing activity in the Philadelphia region. The Philly Fed Manufacturing Index unexpectedly increased in October, boosting optimism over the health of the world’s largest economy.
Official data showed on Thursday that the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia reported that its manufacturing index advanced to 27.9 in October from September’s reading of 23.8. October’s reading is its highest reading since May and comes after analysts had expected the index to fall to 22.0.
US Dollar Higher
The US Dollar is currently enjoying strong gains against most major currencies. The EUR/USD is down 0.34%, the GBP/USD is 0.39% lower whilst the USD/JPY is 0.60% higher. Against its dollar cousins the USD is up 0.43% against the CAD and up 0.29% against the AUD. The US Dollar index which tracks the greenback against a basket of six weighted currencies is 0.35% higher at $93.34. The strengthening US dollar saw Gold and Silver both post heavy declines. Gold is down 0.38% whilst Silver is down 0.44%.
