The U.S. dollar rebounded against most major currencies on Thursday, regaining some recent losses, after the latest batch of economic data turned out to be a bit encouraging.
The greenback, which was struggling against most of its major rivals in most of the recent sessions, shed notable ground on Wednesday after the Federal Reserve held interest rates unchanged and said there won't be any hike in the current year. The Fed also lowered its outlook for the U.S. economy. The Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said that it's great time to be patient with interest rates.
The Dollar Index rose to 96.63 today and despite dropping to 96.40, was still up in positive territory, gaining about 0.5%.
The Bank of England today left its policy rates and monetary stimulus unchanged, as UK lawmakers scramble to secure an extension of the deadline for leaving the European Union.
The bank also released the results of a survey which showed that "a significantly greater number of companies had judged themselves ready for a no-deal, no-transition Brexit scenario."
The central bank reiterated that a further tightening of policy at a gradual pace may be need if the economy expands in line with projections, but added that a lot depends on how Brexit pans out.
"The MPC judged that the monetary policy response to Brexit, whatever form it took, would not be automatic and could be in either direction," the bank said.
The nine-member Monetary Policy Committee, led by Governor Mark Carney, unanimously decided to hold the bank rate unchanged at 0.75%, in line with economists' expectations.
The British Pound Sterling, which closed at $1.3194, was down 0.7% at $1.3102. The Sterling dropped to a low of $1.2981 before recovering some ground on reports the EU is considering a conditional extension of the March 29 Brexit deadline to May 22.
Against the Euro, the dollar was gaining about 0.35%, at 1.1370.
The Japanese yen was trading at 110.79 a dollar, down from 110.79. Against the Loonie, the greenback is gaining more than 0.5% and against Swiss franc, it is down 0.02%. The Aussie, meanwhile, is lower by 0.007% against the dollar.
The Aussie is down marginally against the greenback.
The unemployment rate in Australia came in at a seasonally adjusted 4.9% in February, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said on Thursday - beneath expectations for 5%, which would have been unchanged from the January reading.
In the U.S., first-time claims for unemployment benefits fell by more than expected in the week ended March 16th, a report released by the Labor Department on Thursday showed.
The report said initial jobless claims dropped to 221,000, a decrease of 9,000 from the previous week's revised level of 230,000. Economists had expected jobless claims to dip to 225,000 from the 229,000 originally reported for the previous week.
A report from the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia showed its index of manufacturing activity rebounded by much more than anticipated in March, after unexpected contraction in the previous month.
The Philly Fed said its index for current manufacturing activity in the region jumped to a positive 13.7 in March from a negative 4.1 in February, with a positive reading indicating growth. Economists had expected the index to rise to a positive 4.5.
The Conference Board's report showed its reading on leading U.S. economic indicators rose for the first time in five months in February, reflecting accommodative financial conditions and a rebound in stock prices.
The Conference Board said its leading economic index edged up by 0.2% in February after revised data showed no change in January. Economists had expected the index to inch up by 0.1% compared to the 0.1% dip originally reported for the previous month.
The report said the coincident economic index rose by 0.2% in February following a 0.1% uptick in January, while the lagging economic index was unchanged after climbing by 0.6% in the previous month.
