The Dollar managed to cling onto gains made on the earlier US stock and commodities slump that pushed traders to dollars, replaying a theme that has been seen often over the past few weeks. Soft equities, ECB talk of a ''fragile recovery'', and weaker oil and gold gave the dollar a boost in New York trading, as EUR/USD bottomed out at 1.4820 prior to the Asia open. Although the EUR/USD was able to peak over the 1.4870 level, for a high, it was still a far cry from the 1.5050 highs that were posted less than 24 hours ago.
With a lack of any meaningful data or news, the session was bogged down with tight ranges and no surprises. One pair that raised an eyebrow however was the GBP/USD which made a nice 80 pip drive higher as traders looked to get back into positions they were stopped out of earlier in the week when the pound was spooked by the Fitch news and the King comments.
The high yielding Aussie pulled itself up against the greenback, but the move encompassed a mere 40 pips as the AUD/USD's ride higher fell short of 0.9270. NZD/USD on the other hand, failed to break out of a 30 pip range for the day. Gold struggled early, fading to an $1100.30 low before a reversal put the precious metal at $1107.00 highs heading into the London trade day.
USD/JPY was stuck in a slow 30 pip range but drifted lower although staying above the 90.20 level at the close.
The week ends with US trade balance at 8:30 am EST in NY, and a few speeches from FOMC members to round out the week. Have a nice weekend.
