Dollar On The Ropes Versus Majors Ahead Of Energy Inventories
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(RTTNews) - The dollar came under pressure versus other major currencies Wednesday morning in New York, giving back most of its significant gains from the previous session. The buck was testing its record lows versus the euro ahead of the opening bell on Wall Street.
The greenback soared along with equities on Tuesday, after the Fed pumped $200 billion into financial markets in an effort to ease the credit crunch gripping Wall Street.
Nevertheless, the dollar headed lower again this morning amid expectations that the Fed will continue to slash interest rates. Many analysts are still predicting that the Fed will cut interest rates by as much as 75 basis points after next week's policy meeting.
The Energy Department's Crude Oil Inventory report is scheduled to be released at 10:30 AM ET on Wednesday.
Crude oil inventories declined by 3.1 million barrels in the week ended February 29th. Distillate inventories declined by 2.7 million barrels, while gasoline inventories increased by 1.7 million barrels. Refinery capacity utilization rose by 1.2 percentage points on average in the four-weeks ended February 29th to 85.9%.
The buck raced back towards its record lows from early Tuesday morning versus the euro, dropping more than a cent to 1.5488. A move below 1.5494 would bring the dollar to another all-time low against the euro. The buck has been on the defensive against its European counterpart for more than a month.
Euro zone industrial output grew 3.8% year-on-year in January, up from a revised 1.7% growth in December, the Eurostat said Wednesday. Industrial production growth for December was revised up from 1.3% initially estimated. Industrial output grew more than the 2.6% expected.
The greenback fell sharply against the sterling, testing Monday's multi-month low before finding support. The buck dropped more than a penny to 2.0214, pulling up just shy of 2.0219, its lowest level since December.
UK's total trade deficit totaled GBP4.1 billion in January, same as in December, the Office for National Statistics stated Wednesday. The trade deficit for December was revised from GBP4.7 billion initially estimated. Economists had expected a deficit of GBP4.6 billion.
The dollar eased to the yen Wednesday morning in New York, slipping to 102.22 from an overnight level near 103.10. With the retreat, the buck moved closer to last week's 8-year low of 101.40.
Bank of Japan Deputy Governor Toshiro Muto was officially rejected on Wednesday by the upper house of parliament, ending for the moment his bid to become the bank's next governor when outgoing BOJ leader Toshihiko Fukui's term expires on March 19.
Japan's consumer confidence decreased to 36.1 in February from 37.5 in January, the Cabinet Office said Wednesday. The indicator fell for the fifth successive month. A year ago, the consumer confidence indicator stood at 48.4. At its current level, the indicator recorded its lowest reading since March 2003, when it was 34.7. |
