The US dollar lost ground against its major opponents on Wednesday morning in Asia. The greenback plummeted to a new multi-month low against the Swiss franc, new 7-week low versus the euro and a 15-day low against the Japanese yen.
Traders continued to mull yesterday's report released by the Commerce Department showing the trade deficit in U.S. widened to $27.6 billion in March from a revised $26.1 billion in February. Economists had expected the deficit to widen to $29.0 billion compared to the $26.0 billion originally reported for the previous month.
The greenback slumped to a 15-day low of 95.8 against the Japanese yen by 9:00 pm ET and the pair is presently trading at 96.13. The dollar-yen pair was worth 96.46 at Tuesday's New York session close and if the pair ticks down further, support is seen at the 95.6 level.
In economic news from Japan, the unadjusted current account showed a surplus of 1.486 trillion yen in March, the Ministry of Finance said today, declining 48.8 percent on year. That was sharply higher than forecasts for a 1.209 trillion yen surplus following the 1.116 trillion yen surplus in February.
The adjusted current account came in at 902.3 billion yen versus forecasts for a 527 billion yen surplus after the 673.4 billion yen surplus in February. Unadjusted goods and services showed a surplus of 98.7 billion yen, down 91.7 percent on year.
The trade balance came in at 132.9 billion yen, down 89.3 percent on year. Imports were down 37.8 percent to 3.797 trillion yen, while exports fell an annual 46.5 percent to 3.93 trillion yen.
The US dollar plunged to a fresh multi-month low of 1.0981 against the Swiss franc by 8:35 pm ET, compared to 1.1059 hit late New York Tuesday. The pair is presently trading at 1.1016 with 1.089 seen as the next target level.
Against the euro, the US dollar plummeted to a new 7-week low of 1.3723 by 8:35 pm ET. This may be compared to Tuesday's New York session closing value of 1.3649. On the downside, the greenback may find target near the 1.374 level and the pair is presently quoted at 1.3694.
The International Monetary Fund, or IMF, said yesterday that the severe economic downturn in Europe could end during the second half of 2010, followed by a gradual recovery. It added that further policy actions in the financial sector would be essential to induce this recovery.
"The measures taken to counteract the deep recession in Europe have provided a good foundation for a gradual recovery, but further actions by policy makers, particularly in the financial sector, are needed to restore market trust and confidence, and accelerate the recovery," said Marek Belka, Director of the IMF's European Department.
Looking ahead, the euro-zone industrial production for March, French consumer price index for April and current account for March are slated for release in the upcoming session.
The US dollar dropped to 1.5325 against the UK's sterling before leveling off around 7:35 pm ET. The cable that closed Tuesday's deals at 1.5274 is presently trading at 1.5313.
Economic data is likely to be in focus on Wednesday, with the Commerce Department scheduled to release its report on retail sales in April. Economists expect sales to come in unchanged after falling by 1.2 percent in March.
Traders are also likely to keep an eye on monthly reports on import and export prices and business inventories as well as the weekly crude oil inventories report.
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May 08, 2026 15:50 ET Manufacturing and services sector survey results and labor market data from main economies were the highlight on the economics news front this week. Factory orders and jobs report dominated the news flow in the U.S. Similarly, industrial production data from German garnered attention in Europe. In Asia, purchasing managers’ survey results from China and the central bank decision from Australia were in focus.