FX Roundup: Dollar sees mixed fortunes over quiet session

The dollar saw mixed fortunes against selected currency crosses on Thursday, over a quiet day of trading with US markets closed for the Thanksgiving Holiday stateside.

At 1704 GMT, the dollar fell against the yen by 0.11% changing hands at JPY122.60. Concurrently, the pound fell 0.09% against the dollar exchanging at $1.5113, while the euro fell 0.16% to change hands at $1.0607.

Continuing with major crosses, the greenback rose 0.26% against the Swiss franc exchanging at CHF1.0245, staying above parity in its favour during late European trading following a raft of US data overnight.

According to the US Commerce Department, orders for durable goods increased 3% last month, compared to forecasts for a 1.5% gain. September's 1.2% drop was revised to a 0.8% decrease.

Elsewhere, American consumer spending rose 0.1% month-on-month in October compared with a 0.1% increase in September and with analysts’ expectations for a 0.3% gain, while personal income rose 0.4% month-on-month in October in line with expectations and up from an upwardly revised 0.2% increase registered in September.

On a core level, which strips out food and energy, the personal consumption expenditure was flat, falling short of the 0.1% reading analysts had expected and lower than an upwardly revised 0.2% gain in the previous month.

In other data releases, the Labor Department said new claims declined by 12,000 to 260,000 in the week to 21 November, compared with analysts' expectations for a 271,000 reading, while the average of new claims over the last four weeks were unchanged at a seasonally adjusted 271,000.

Kit Juckes, head of forex at Societe Generale, said, “The chances of a post ECB/FOMC dollar sell-off are significant. Furthermore, we should never underestimate [ECB President] Mario Draghi's commitment to deliver easier policy. These conclusions point me towards a weaker EUR/USD over time, but selling EUR/JPY remains in some ways a more attractive trade, as the BOJ/ECB contrast is striking.”

The greenback also traded higher against selected commodity-linked currencies, including the Norwegian Krone by 0.24% changing hands at NOK8.6619, alongside gains of 0.46%, 0.22% and 0.08% against the Colombian peso, Brazilian real and Canadian dollar, changing hands at COP$3,100.30, BRL3.7537 and CAD$1.3301 respectively.

Finally, the Australian dollar fell against its US counterpart by 0.30% changing hands at US$0.7230, while the New Zealand dollar fell 0.12% against the greenback changing hands at US$0.6570.