By: Barbara Zigah
With investors covering their short positions versus the Yen, the U.S. Dollar edged up slightly in Asian trading today, continuing the gains made late last week. This follows Ben Bernanke’s comments made last week at a policy meeting of the Federal Reserve Bank, of which Mr. Bernanke is the Chairman, that the current loose monetary policy would be tightened if and when economic recovery takes a firm hold. Those comments gave hope to investors that key interest rates in the United States may be hiked sooner than anticipated.
As reported at 2:07 p.m. (JST) in Tokyo, the U.S. Dollar Index traded at 76.502 .DXY, a .1% increase from last Friday in New York, and off a 14-month trough of 75.767 .DXY, which was established last week. The U.S. Dollar Index is a measure of the American currency’s value versus a group of major currencies. Versus the Japanese Yen, the U.S. Dollar gained .4% to trade at 90.14 Yen, the highest level since the beginning of the month, and off of 8-month trough of 88.01 Yen. The Euro also lost ground against the U.S. Dollar, trading at $1.4704, a decline of .2% from Friday’s trading.
Holiday celebrations in Tokyo and the United States suggest that trading in those markets will be lighter than normal today.
U.S. Dollar Edges up broadly on Investor Hopes
After working on Wall Street, Barb began her second career as a freelance writer at Daily Forex, where the CEO recognized fresh, untapped potential and was willing to give her a try. She’s never looked back. Since then, she’s worked steadily as a freelance writer and editor in the financial services and Forex-related industry.