Dhaka, Bangladesh (BBN)- The European currency (EUR) started off the week rebounding from five-month lows and rising around 1.4130 levels against the USD on Friday.
However, EUR pared its gains throughout the week and touched a six month low of USD 1.3930 on Thursday, on concerns over higher interest rates in the United States. EUR closed the week trading at around 1.4013 against the USD.
The Japanese Yen (JPY) was on an upward trend throughout the early part of the week and touched a five-week high against the USD, at JPY 89.79, on Friday. However, on Tuesday the JPY fell sharply against the USD when Standard & Poor’s said it had cut its outlook on Japan’s AA long-term sovereign debt rating to negative from stable. At the end of the week the USD rose to around JPY 90.34.
The British Pound Sterling (GBP) started the week trading at around 1.6192 against the USD. However, GBP tumbled on an early release of weaker-than-expected retail sales data, trading as low as USD 1.6132 on Tuesday. GBP pared some of its losses towards the end of the week to trade at around USD 1.6231.
The Australian Dollar (AUD) dipped to its lowest level in almost a month at USD 0.8983 on Friday, hit by China’s tightening of lending and monetary policy.
The AUD retreated after the fourth-quarter consumer price index rose a little faster than forecast. AUD was trading at around USD 0.9014 on Thursday.
The Canadian Dollar (CAD) hit its lowest level at 1.0603 against the USD, since late December, 2009 on Friday as investor confidence was shaken by concerns over a White House plan to limit risk-taking by US banks and China’s monetary policy stance. CAD closed the week trading at around 1.0586 against the USD.
BBN/SS/SI/AD-30January10-10:49 pm (BST)
