FX round-up: US dollar ends session slightly lower

Cable was practically unchanged by the end of trading in London, as with most of the major pairs, with a slightly weaker tone to trading in the greenback, following weak economic data, and in the currencies of the major crude oil producers as crude oil prices slipped.

Euro/dollar was trading at 1.1257 as of 17:19 BST, having drifted lower by 0.10% during the session, with cable just 0.02% higher against the US dollar at 1.4159.

US industrial production declined by 0.6% month-on-month in March, led by sharp falls in mining (-2.9%) and utilities’ output (-1.2%), data from the Federal Reserve revealed on Friday.

Significantly, the degree of capacity utilisation, a closely-followed lead indicator for inflation pressures, dropped from 75.3% to 74.8% (consensus: 75.3%).

Consumer confidence was also weaker Stateside, with the University of Michigan’s gauge of consumer confidence retreating from a reading of 91.0 for March to 89.7 for April, according to a preliminary estimate.

The dollar also finished the session slightly lower against the main commodity exporters’ currencies, such as the Canadian Loonie, retreating by 0.31% to 1.2804.

Australia’s dollar was also up against the Greenback, rising 0.32% to 0.7719.

Oil futures retreated ahead of a meeting of several of the world’s major oil producers in Doha, Qatar, on Sunday, with the aim of agreeing on a ‘freeze’ in their levels output.

Further afield, investors would also be keeping close tabs on Sunday’s impeachment vote in Brazil against president Dilma Roussseff.

The spot US dollar index retreated 0.29% to end the day at 94.62.