By: Barbara Zigah
In Asian trading today, the U.S. Dollar Index held steady, and may be an indication that market players are factoring in the possibility of the Fed’s putting QE measures into play soon.
Reported at 3:01 p.m. (JST) in Tokyo, the U.S. Dollar Index, a measure of the greenback’s strength versus major currencies, traded at 77.507 .DXY, a .1% gain; nonetheless it still remains within striking distance of the 76.906 .DXY low struck last week.
As short-covering increases on the QE speculation, it’s likely that 76.68 .DXY would be the next target. Investors will exercise caution in U.S. Dollar selling over the short term, at least until definitive word comes from the Fed. To that end, later in the trading day, the policy meeting minutes of the September 21st Federal Reserve meeting will be released, and no doubt be closely scrutinized.
Versus the Japanese Yen, the greenback slipped to 81.93 Yen, a decline of .2%, with some limited support coming from importers in Japan. Wariness over the possibility of intervention by the Japan Ministry of Finance is holding down Yen buying. Yesterday, the U.S. Dollar briefly touched on 81.37 Yen, a 15-year low. One market player in Japan said he sees the greenback trading in the 81.50 – 83.00 Yen range in advance of the G20 summit to be held later this month in South Korea.