By: Barbara Zigah
Commodity linked currencies jumped as risk appetite was whetted following yesterday’s comments by on ECB official who hinted that there was a possibility that the central bank could embark on additional bond purchases. According to Benoit Coeure, there is unjustifiable pressure on Spain and the bank’s bond purchase program is still an option; that comment helped to quell market jitters over Spain’s looming debt crisis. The EUR/USD pair reached a 1-week peak of $1.3158 before settling back to $1.3116, still firmly ensconced within a relatively tight trading band.
The Australian Dollar gained more than 0.5% against the U.S. Dollar, hitting a high of $1.3086 on that news, but helped along as well by news that showed Australian employment unexpectedly rose. The Aussie has been under pressure in recent weeks, dropping some 3.7% and well off the January peak of $1.0857, as lackluster economic data and worries of a slowdown in China have together led to expectations that the RBA will cut interest rates next month.
The Japanese Yen also broadly slipped from a multi-week high; against the U.S. Dollar the Yen lost 0.2% and was recently trading at 81.00 Yen while versus the Euro the Yen slipped to 106.23 Yen.