After the US President Barack Obama pledged to focus on expanding jobs in the country, the Australian dollar recovered from its overnight weakness and bond prices fell. President Obama’s speech drove up US stock futures.
However, the US dollar erased early gains and lost against all major currencies today as traders focused on covering their short positions. While the euro rose to $1.4036 from $1.4022 in late North American trading Wednesday, it fell to its six-month low of $1.3927 in early trading in Asia. The dollar index (NYSE: DXY), which tracks the US currency against a trade-weighted basket of six major rivals, slipped to $78.601, from $78.750 late Wednesday.
Meanwhile, the British pound moved up to $1.6260 from $1.6155 late Wednesday. However, the US dollar gained against its Japanese counterpart, rising to 90.39 yen from 89.99 yen late Wednesday.