Forex Today: Rising US yields support USD as risk rally loses momentum
Here is what you need to know on Friday, February 23:
After dropping to its weakest level in three weeks, the US Dollar (USD) Index staged a rebound amid rising Treasury bond yields and closed flat on Thursday before stabilizing near 104.00 early Friday. IFO business sentiment survey for Germany will be featured in the European economic docket. Investors will also pay close attention to comments from central bankers.
The risk rally that was fuelled by surging technology stocks caused the USD to weaken against its major rivals on Thursday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.2%, the S&P 500 gained 2.1% to close at a new all-time high of 5,087 and the Nasdaq Composite was up nearly 3%. Later in the American session, however, the benchmark 10-year US yield climbed to its highest level since late November at 4.35% and helped the currency erase its daily losses. In the European morning, the 10-year yield holds steady at around 4.33% and US stock index futures trade virtually unchanged on the day.
US Dollar price this week
The table below shows the percentage change of US Dollar (USD) against listed major currencies this week. US Dollar was the weakest against the New Zealand Dollar.
| USD | EUR | GBP | CAD | AUD | JPY | NZD | CHF | |
| USD | -0.38% | -0.39% | 0.03% | -0.47% | 0.37% | -1.00% | 0.01% | |
| EUR | 0.37% | -0.02% | 0.40% | -0.13% | 0.74% | -0.62% | 0.38% | |
| GBP | 0.39% | 0.01% | 0.41% | -0.11% | 0.76% | -0.61% | 0.40% | |
| CAD | -0.02% | -0.40% | -0.41% | -0.50% | 0.34% | -1.02% | -0.01% | |
| AUD | 0.49% | 0.10% | 0.08% | 0.52% | 0.86% | -0.50% | 0.50% | |
| JPY | -0.36% | -0.75% | -0.72% | -0.35% | -0.84% | -1.37% | -0.36% | |
| NZD | 0.99% | 0.62% | 0.60% | 1.01% | 0.52% | 1.35% | 1.00% | |
| CHF | -0.01% | -0.38% | -0.40% | 0.01% | -0.48% | 0.35% | -1.01% |
The heat map shows percentage changes of major currencies against each other. The base currency is picked from the left column, while the quote currency is picked from the top row. For example, if you pick the Euro from the left column and move along the horizontal line to the Japanese Yen, the percentage change displayed in the box will represent EUR (base)/JPY (quote).
The data from the US showed on Thursday that Initial Jobless Claims declined to 201,000 in the week ending February 17 from 213,000 in the previous week. Additionally, S&P Global Composite PMI came in at 51.4 in February's flash estimate, highlighting an ongoing expansion in the private sector's business activity.
EUR/USD came within a touching distance of 1.0900 on Thursday but made a sharp U-turn to close the day flat. Nevertheless, the pair holds steady above 1.0800 in the early European session on Friday.
GBP/USD advanced above 1.2700 for the first time in three weeks on Thursday. As the USD recovered later in the day, the pair erased a large portion of its daily gains but settled above 1.2650.
USD/JPY closed in positive territory for the second consecutive day on Thursday. Early Friday, the pair fluctuates in a narrow channel at around 150.50.
After spending the majority of the day near $2,030, Gold lost its traction and retreated toward $2,020 on Thursday, pressured by rising US yields. XAU/USD consolidates its losses at around $2,020 in the European morning.
Author
Eren Sengezer
FXStreet
As an economist at heart, Eren Sengezer specializes in the assessment of the short-term and long-term impacts of macroeconomic data, central bank policies and political developments on financial assets.
