NEW YORK, May 26 (Xinhua) — The U.S. dollar weakened against major currencies despite elevated inflationary pressures as investors remained upbeat about the outlook for U.S. debt ceiling talks.
The dollar index, which measures the greenback against six major peers, was down 0.04 percent at 104.2036 in late trade.
US stocks traded sharply higher on Friday. The tech-heavy Nasdaq rose more than 2 percent on Friday afternoon, as hopes rose for a debt ceiling deal in Congress.
US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said Thursday night: “We’ve been talking to the White House all day, we’ve been going back and forth, and it’s not easy. It’s going to take a while to make it happen, and we’re working hard. to make it happen.”
US President Joe Biden also said Thursday afternoon that negotiators are “making progress.”
“This morning’s headlines suggest that the gaps between the White House and the House majority after various meetings are narrowing when it comes to a deal. Of course, this knocked off some of the strength the money had been counting on throughout May,” said a note by Monex USA, a provider of foreign exchange, risk management and international payment solutions.
The personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index, which measures a variety of goods and services and adjusts for changes in consumer behavior, rose 0.4 percent month-on-month in April, higher than the 0.3 percent forecast consensus and 0.1 percent expansion in March, according to data from the US Bureau of Economic Analysis on Friday.
“That’s not what the Fed wants to see,” said Andrew Patterson, senior international economist at Vanguard. “The rise in services… is not good news for the Fed in terms of getting inflation back to target.”
In late New York trading, the euro was up at $1.0730 from $1.0722 in the previous session, and the British pound rose to $1.2350 from $1.2318 in the previous session.
The US dollar bought 140.6220 Japanese yen, higher than 139.9710 Japanese yen from the previous session. The US dollar fell to 0.9047 Swiss francs from 0.9063 Swiss francs and it fell to 1.3615 Canadian dollars from 1.3638 Canadian dollars. The US dollar fell to SEK 10.8130 from SEK 10.8328.
Source: sn.dk