The USD gained Wednesday, pushing the euro to its lowest level since September 2010, as US stocks extended losses after the European Central Bank released more data on its lending operations.
The EURO saw little benefit earlier following Italy’s latest auction of short-term debt.
The USD index, a measure of the greenback’s performance against six major currencies, rose to 80.471 from 79.792. EURO fell to $1.2950, from $1.3074 in North America late Tuesday. Currency dropped as low as $1.2910, its weakest level on a closing basis since September 2010, according to FactSet Research. Against the JPY, the greenback gained to Y78, from Y77.85. The EUR also fell about 0.8% against the JPY to Y100.96, having touching its lowest level since 2001. The GBP bought $1.5461, falling further from $1.5663. AUD is holding up far better than the EUR in light of the USD demand on the day. AUD at current levels near $1.0095 (range $1.0067/$1.0203) is still well above its mid Dec lows near $0.9857, in contrast to the EUR, which earlier broke below its mid Dec lows. At the highs seen earlier, the AUD seemed to reject a sustained move above both its 55-day ($1.0172 ) and 100-day ($1.0199).
EasyForexNews Research Team