After dynamic moves earlier in New York where the dollar was catapulted off of recent lows, trading in Asia was orderly and range bound as the dollar mostly retained those earlier gains.
The big boost for the dollar came earlier as commodities and stocks continued to fall and traders began covering dollar shorts as the market looked skittish at best. The soft equities and commodities continued into Asia as the greenback hovered near earlier highs in a day that offered no significant data or news to spark moves.
EUR/USD shed a solid two big figures in NY and opened the day in Asia near 1.4860.
After an early visit to 1.4850 the pair crawled to highs near 1.4890, but that 40 pip range offered no surprises. GBP/USD didn't take as big of a hit as the Euro did overnight, but rest assured failed to break out of the 1.6350 to 1.6285 range it occupied throughout the day.
The Aussie Dollar suffered the same fall as the Euro, as many investors believed a correction on the high flying AUD/USD was long overdue. However, the AUD/USD did see some bids for the day, pushing it 40 pips to a 0.9190 high. Many traders still feel that a rate hike from the RBA in November is a sure thing, which could help keep this pair elevated.
The dollar hit a monthly high just over 92.30 in USD/JPY, but the pair retreated to 92.00 levels heading into London. Yen crosses were mostly unchanged despite losses in the Nikkei and Heng Seng of almost 1.5%. Many view the higher yields of US treasuries as another possible culprit in the stronger dollar, but the consensus seems to remain that recent moves have labeled the buck as oversold.
Spot gold looked to recoup some losses that took the precious metal to $1036.00 low in late NY trading. The precious metal was able to churn out a $6 gain to $1042.00 highs as the day progressed.
Ahead traders will look to US Consumer Confidence for further clues of the dollar's direction, and Asia will kick off tomorrow with Australian CPI and Japanese Retail Sales.
