With one day left in the week, the US Dollar is poised to finish off lower as investors digest the likelihood that the Federal Reserve will follow through with fewer rate hikes than expected in 2017. On Wednesday, the Fed failed to change its outlook for potential policy changes, with only two more rate hikes anticipated and not a hoped for fourth increase. Against the Japanese Yen, the greenback is down about 1.3% this week in subdued Asian trade ahead of a holiday in Tokyo.
As reported at 10:24 am (JST) in Tokyo, the USD/JPY was trading at 113.84 Yen, up 0.16%. The AUD/USD was down 0.1074% to trade at $0.7672 while the NZD/USD was up 0.21% to trade at $0.6991.
Netherlands Election Relief Helps Euro
In the Eurozone, the common currency is trying to hold onto earlier momentum and, if able, the EUR/USD is poised to finish the week about 0.9% higher. What helped the Euro was the election outcome in the Netherlands in which the anti-Islam contender, Geert Wilders, lost his bid against the Prime Minister, Mark Rutte. Some media outlets have called incendiary Wilders the “Dutch Donald Trump” and that some analysts say may have been enough to push undecided voters to maintain a more centrist stance. The EUR/USD pair was trading at $1.0768, down 0.04%.