Market News

The US Dollar had held steady earlier in Friday trading in Asia but is now struggling for traction as investors ready themselves for the inauguration of Donald Trump as the 45th President of the United States.

The US Dollar Index, used by FX traders to gauge the relative strength of the greenback against a weighted basket of major rivals, edged up in early European trade, helped along by Janet Yellen.

The U.S. dollar recovered some of its recent losses during Thursday’s Asian session as fallout from Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen’s speech sent the dollar index 0.3 percent higher to 101.22 .DXY.

The US Dollar recovered in Wednesday trading, halting the five days of declines as investors await a speech by the Federal Reserve chief, Janet Yellen.

The yen continued maintain its title as a safe haven currency since the start of the New Year on Wednesday, even as the dollar recovered slightly from its seven-week low against the yen as investors eagerly await Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen’s monetary policy announcements later today.

President-elect Donald Trump complained about the Dollar’s appreciation which helped to halt any potential gains.

Speaking from Caracas on Monday, OPEC Secretary-General Mohammed Barkindo predicted that oil prices would stabilize in 2017.

The US Dollar edged lower versus the Japanese Yen and hit a 6-week trough as investors’ wariness over the policy plans of the incoming Trump administration grows ahead of his inauguration.

The British pound fell to three-month lows during Monday’s Asian session in advance of Prime Minister Theresa May’s speech on Tuesday which she will likely use to present plans for a “hard Brexit”, which will include reclaiming control of the country’s borders.

There will be a considerably heavier news schedule this week, compared to last week which was very light.

US President-elect Trump’s first news conference in six months failed to yield anything of substance for pushed the US Dollar to a 5-week trough while sending investors to the safe haven Yen.

Despite confidence that President-elect Donald Trump’s news conference on Wednesday would send the dollar higher, his words had a converse effect, sending the greenback broadly lower after a notable rally prior to the conference.

The Pound Sterling remained close to a 10-week trough versus the US Dollar as market players ponder the possibility of a “hard” Brexit in which immigration controls are of paramount concern and single market access could be secondary.

Asian stock prices edged higher on Wednesday in anticipation of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s news conference, scheduled to be held later today, in which he is expected to outline his economic plan with greater detail and transparency.

Ahead of the first “official” news conference to be held by the US President-elect, the US Dollar eased down for the second consecutive day on investor caution.