The U.S. Dollar remained steady in afternoon trading on Wednesday in Asia against the Euro and the Yen, ahead of U.S. economic data and press release by the European Central Bank on interest rates.
The May U.S. jobs data statistics will be released today by ADP Employer Services and on the same day, data on non-manufacturing index will be released by the Institute of Supply Management. Both data will give investors some indication on the direction of the U.S. economy. According to analysts, investors are playing the wait and see game ahead of the data releases and also the outcome of the ECB meeting on interest rates which will be held on Thursday.
On June 4, 2008 at 01:00 pm (05:00 GMT), the U.S. Dollar traded at 105.10 Yen compared to 105.04 Yen, while the Euro traded at $1.5458 compared to $1.5451.
The U.S. Dollar gained support overnight following Federal Reserve Bank Chairman, Ben Bernanke’s comments on the effect of a weak U.S. dollar on inflation. A weak U.S. dollar pushes the price of imported goods such as commodities and oil, thus fueling inflation. Over the past 12 months, crude oil prices have soared to record levels and hit an all time price level of $135.09 per barrel last month on the N.Y. Mercantile Exchange.