The US dollar was trading mostly lower in early deals Thursday as caution prevailed ahead of the weekly jobless claims data later today and Bernanke's highly anticipated address in the Jackson Hole symposium on Friday.
Traders are eagerly waiting for hints of a third round of quantitative easing although the market scaled back stimulus hopes from the U.S. and Europe.
Yesterday's Beige Book showed that the U.S. economic activity continued to expand gradually in July and early August. While six districts indicated that the local economy continued to expand at a modest pace, another three cited moderate growth.
Meanwhile, data from the U.S. yesterday were also quite positive with the second quarter GDP revising upward and pending home sales for July surpassing expectations.
Italy's borrowing costs declined further at a debt auction today and demand for the country's debt improved as investors hope that the European Central Bank would resume its bond-buying plan to help lower the yields for Italy and Spain.
The Italian Treasury reportedly raised its maximum target of EUR 6.5 billion from the sale of a new 10-year bond and five year debt. The latest auction follows two successful sales yesterday and the day before.
The agency sold EUR 4 billion of the new benchmark bond due November 22, matching the top end of its target range. The yield on the 10-year debt dropped to 5.82 percent from 5.96 percent paid on July 30 for a security of similar maturity.
The dollar traded lower against the Swiss franc, falling to the day's low of 0.9561 around 5:05 am ET. The succeeding bounce was not solid and the pair is hovering around the 0.9570/75 area. The key level to watch on the downside is 0.9545/50.
The US currency weakened against the yen following a report showed that Japan's retail sales were down a seasonally adjusted 1.5 percent in July, worse than forecasts for a fall of 0.5 percent. The dollar-yen pair has been trading the day's bottom range at 78.60/70 since late Asian deals.
The greenback fell as low as 1.5846 against the pound before recovering some gains around 7:00 am ET. Further bearish bias could help the buck re-test yesterday's low of 1.5857 n the near-term. The key level to watch on the downside is 1.59.
The recent correction for the dollar against the euro was not so solid and the greenback continued to move in its bearish track ahead of the key risk-events. The dollar bought at 1.2550 per euro around 7:30 am ET and the domestic unit is about to re-test the day's low of 1.2564 in the near-term.
Eurozone economic sentiment weakened further in August due to strong loss in confidence among consumers, retailers and construction managers. The economic sentiment index dropped to 86.1 from 87.9 in July, below the consensus forecast of 87.5, European Commission said.
Meanwhile, Germany's unemployment increased by 9,000 in August from July, the Federal Labor Agency said. The number of unemployed was forecast to rise by 7,000 after increasing 9,000 in July.
Looking ahead, the Labor Department is due to release its customary jobless claims report for the week ended August 25th at 8:30 AM ET. Economists expect claims to decline to 370,000 from 372,000 in the previous week.
The Bureau of Economic Analysis is due to release its personal income & outlays report for July. Economists expect the report, which is due out at 8:30 am ET, to show that personal income rose 0.3 percent, while personal spending is expected to have increased by 0.5 percent.
For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com
Forex News
June 12, 2026 17:14 ET Major central bank action was the focus this week in economic news. The European Central Bank became the first major central bank to move in response to the rising inflationary pressures in the backdrop of the conflict in the Middle East. In North America, the U.S. inflation and trade data as well as Canada’s central bank decision gained attention. The Chinese trade data was the main news in Asia.