The dollar fell against the safe-haven Japanese yen on Friday as dismal U.S. manufacturing data fuelled worries about the wider economy, and Treasury bond yields signalled growing fears of a recession. The dollar, however, rose against the euro as a much weaker-than-expected German manufacturing survey raised concerns that Europe’s powerhouse economy may be slowing. On Friday, the spread between 3-month Treasury bills and 10-year note yields inverted for the first time since 2007 after U.S. PMI manufacturing data missed estimates. This inversion of the yield curve is widely seen as ...

The time is ripe for euro zone countries to deepen the monetary union and strengthen the currency’s global role, but they still have to overcome differences on fiscal instruments for a future common budget, the head of its ESM bailout fund said on Friday. Speaking at a conference in Lisbon, where Eurogroup chairman Mario Centeno made a similar call, Klaus Regling said the ESM’s discussions with investors had shown that they are closely looking at the topic of the currency’s global role. “If we succeed in deepening monetary union further, ...

British pound buoyed by Brexit extension The U.S. dollar climbed modestly in early Friday trading, with the euro under pressure following a round of disappointing economic data. The ICE U.S. Dollar Index continued its climb after Thursday’s gains and rose 0.2% to 96.707. For the week, the gauge, which measures the greenback against six rivals, is on track for a modest 0.1% gain. Notably, it fell to a six-week low on Wednesday , following the Federal Reserve’s dovish policy update. The euro was among the weakest performers against the dollar ...

The dollar dropped on Friday, giving up some of its overnight gains and on track for a second consecutive weekly dip thanks to renewed downward pressure on government bond yields. Sterling bounced on Friday after suffering its biggest daily drop overnight so far this year in the London trading session after Prime Minister Theresa May bought a bit more time to resolve when and how Britain exits from the European Union. Despite the rise, currency derivative markets signalled a growing caution the outlook for the British currency with one-month risk ...

The pound plunged on Thursday and was heading for its biggest one-day fall this year on growing fears of a “no-deal” Brexit should British lawmakers hold firm in their rejection of Prime Minister Theresa May’s EU divorce deal. While a broad-based rally in the dollar also weighed on the pound, traders said the risks of a no-deal Brexit have grown in the last 48 hours, sending the British currency falling across the board and kicking bond yields lower. “A dollar rally and a broad unwinding of long sterling positions across ...

Norges Bank raises rates, Bank of England leaves monetary policy unchanged The U.S. dollar climbed in early Thursday trading, retracing some of its losses from the previous session that it incurred after the Federal Reserve reiterated its dovish monetary policy stance. The U.S. central bank cut its expectations for 2019 interest-rate increases from two to zero, downgraded its economic outlook as Chairman Jerome Powell stressed that it was a “great time” to be patient. The greenback, measured by the ICE U.S. Dollar Index , in response fell 0.7% and recorded ...

The dollar nursed losses in Asia on Thursday after the Federal Reserve roiled markets by abandoning all plans to raise rates this year, a signal its three-year campaign to normalise policy might be at an end. Investors rushed to price in the prospect of rate cuts later this year, while benchmark Treasury yields dived to their lowest since early 2018. The Fed’s swerve sent the dollar sliding to 110.47 yen, with its 0.6 percent loss overnight the biggest drop since the flash crash of early January. The euro flew to ...

Sterling fell on Wednesday after British Prime Minister Theresa May’s request to delay Brexit until June 30 faced resistance from parts of the European Union. With no consensus in Britain’s parliament over how to leave the EU, May was forced to seek an extension from the EU beyond the scheduled departure date of March 29. The delay requested is shorter than some in the market had been expecting and the prime minister said a no-deal Brexit was still possible, keeping sterling traders on edge. France then threatened to reject May’s ...

Sterling fell by a third of a percent on Wednesday as investors remained wary about the prospects of the British currency as Prime Minister Theresa May requests a short delay to Brexit after her failure to get a divorce deal ratified. Though markets have raised expectations that a delay was inevitable, a likely extension leaves the Brexit divorce uncertain, with options including leaving with May’s deal, a longer delay, a disruptive exit or even another referendum. The British currency fell a third of a percent to $1.3224 but remained well ...

Lowering the goal for growth in China’s economy earlier this month, Premier Li Keqiang warned of a “tough economic battle ahead”. Only last week, figures showed that Chinese industrial output for the first two months of 2019 hit a 17-year low. It would be easy for investors to be downbeat on China and the yuan, but that might be a costly error. Admittedly, the timing of the Lunar New Year holiday is likely to have distorted the industrial output data, yet it is undeniable that China’s economy faces challenges. But ...

The dollar rose on Wednesday, attracting safe-haven bids after reports of further tension in U.S.-China trade negotiations, but its gains were slight, with caution expected from the Federal Reserve at its policy meeting later in the day. Volatility in foreign exchange markets has plummeted due to a dovish shift by major central banks including the U.S. Federal Reserve. The negative impact on the dollar from the pause in the Fed’s interest-rate-hiking cycle has been blunted somewhat by a cautious European Central Bank faced with a struggling euro zone economy. The ...

Turnover in sterling surged to its highest levels so far this year last week as investors traded through a series of British parliamentary votes on Brexit including a heavy defeat for Prime Minister Theresa May’s withdrawal agreement, CLS data showed. CLS, a major settler of foreign exchange trades, said weekly turnover for the British pound totalled $460 billion (346.8 billion pounds) in the week ending March. 15 and the highest so far this year. In a series of votes crucial to the Brexit process, lawmakers last week voted on whether ...

The U.S. dollar edged lower against a basket of major currencies on Tuesday as concerns over the strength of the U.S. economy and expectations that the Federal Reserve will prove accommodative at its meeting this week weighed on the greenback. The dollar index, which measures the greenback against six major currencies, fell 0.15 percent to 96.375, hovering close to a more than two-week low touched overnight. Traders are focused on the Federal Reserve, which kicked off its two-day policy meeting on Tuesday, for clues about the likely path of U.S. ...

The U.S. dollar was in the red early Tuesday, looking to add yet another down day to its recent record and continuing to struggle for a new driver, ahead of the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy update on Wednesday. The ICE U.S. Dollar Index was down 0.2% at 96.361. The gauge has fallen seven out of the last eight sessions, according to FactSet. The economic calendar is light again, with only rescheduled January factory orders due at 10 a.m. Eastern, while the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy meeting begins today, culminating in ...

The Japanese yen rose on Tuesday, benefiting from a U.S. dollar hit by concern over the U.S. economy and expectations that the Federal Reserve will prove accommodative at a meeting this week. The euro also profited from the weaker dollar, adding 0.2 percent to $1.1348. Markets expect the Fed to strike a dovish tone when it meets this week, and bets on an interest rate cut have increased after weaker-than-expected manufacturing data on Friday. The U.S. currency, measured against a basket of rivals, has weakened 1.3 percent in the last ...