2019.08.1416:21:00UTC+00U.S. Dollar Shows Moderate Move The Upside

The value of the U.S. dollar fluctuated early on Wednesday before showing a moderate move to the upside in the afternoon.

The U.S. dollar is trading at 106 yen compared to the 106.74 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Tuesday. Against the euro, the dollar is valued at $1.1134 compared to yesterday's $1.1171.

The greenback may have benefited from its appeal as a safe haven as a disappointing batch of Chinese economic data raised concerns about the global economic outlook.

The data included reports from the National Bureau of Statistics showing Chinese industrial production and retail sales growth fell short of economist estimates in July.

With traders subsequently moving their money into U.S. treasuries, the ten-year yield dipped below the two-year yield, which is widely seen as an indicator of a recession.

The inversion sparked a noteworthy sell-off on Wall Street, which further increased the appeal of safe havens such as the dollar, bonds and gold.

Traders will be given a clearer picture of the strength of the U.S. economy with the release of an avalanche of economic data on Thursday.

Reports on weekly jobless claims, retail sales, and industrial production are likely to be in the spotlight, although data on regional manufacturing activity, labor productivity and costs, and homebuilder confidence may also attract attention.

The Labor Department released a report this morning showing import prices in the U.S. unexpectedly saw a modest increase in the month of July.

Import prices rose by 0.2 percent in July after plunging by a revised 1.1 percent in June, while economists had expected import prices to come in unchanged.

The report also showed an unexpected uptick in export prices, which crept up by 0.2 percent in July after falling by a revised 0.6 percent in June. Export prices had also been expected to come in unchanged.