Yesterday, the good data on the US, along with the statements by the Fed representatives, supported the US dollar in the afternoon, which managed to strengthen its position against the euro and the pound.

According to the data, the indicator of moods in the sphere of housing construction in the US in January this year fell slightly, but remained quite high. According to the National Association of Housing Builders, the housing market index in January 2018 fell by 2 points, to 72 points from 74 points in December. Economists had expected the index to be 72.

The industrial production in the US supported the quotations of the US dollar, as it seriously increased. Not affected by the performance and slowdown in the manufacturing industry.

According to the Federal Reserve, industrial production in December 2017 increased by 0.9% compared with the previous month, while economists had expected that production would grow by only 0.5%. The data for November were revised downward, to -0.1%.

In comparison with the same period of the previous year, industrial production in December grew by 3.6%.

The statements by the Fed representatives returned to the market of US dollar buyers.

So, according to Charles Evans, the fundamental economic indicators of the US are very strong, and the biggest challenge for the economy at the moment is low inflation. Evans is confident that inflation will return to the target level, and if its growth resumes, the Fed can accelerate the rate hike.

Another representative of the Federal Reserve, Robert Kaplan, also expects that the economic growth will be strong in 2018 and will be 2.5% -2.75%. According to Kaplan, inflationary pressures are increasing and it will be better if the Fed starts raising rates sooner than later.

It is important to note that the representatives of US central banks are beginning to pay more attention to crypto-currencies. Yesterday, Kaplan said that the Fed should monitor, understand, and adapt to crypto-currencies.

The Australian dollar briefly strengthened its position against the US dollar today in the Asian session after it became known that at the end of 2017, the labor market indicators of Australia showed a rapid strengthening.

Over the past year, 400,000 new jobs have been created. The number of employees in December increased by 34.7 thousand, but this did not lead to a change in the level of unemployment, which in December rose to 5.5% from 5.4% in November.