New York, US (BBN) - The US dollar hovered round the 100 on a trade-weighted basis in Asia on Thursday and the pound faces a sharper look though it remains positive after the formal start of Brexit overnight.
GBP/USD traded at 1.2445, up 0.08 per cent, retracing earlier gains as the EUR/USD came under some selling, down 0.11 per cent to 1.0753, reports Investing.com.
"The weakness in sterling was directly related to all the uncertainty and questions that we know have, after the UK began these proceedings. There's a lot more questions than answers, I do believe that we could see further sterling weakness," Kathy Lien, managing director at BK Asset Management said in a note to clients.
AUD/USD traded up 0.01 per cent to 0.7671 after HIA new home sales rose 0.2 per cent month-on-month in February, compared to a 2.2 per cent decline the previous month. USD/JPY changed hands at 111.39, up 0.31.
The US dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, rose 0.15 per cent to 99.93.
Overnight, the dollar rose against a basket of major currencies on Wednesday, buoyed by better than expected US home sales data while a slump in both the euro and pound underpinned upside momentum in the greenback.
The dollar continued its stuttering recovery from multi-month lows, hitting a session high of 99.96, after the US National Association of Realtors said its pending home sales increased by 5.5 per cent last month, which was far above economists’ forecast of a 2.4 per cent increase.
Meanwhile, several comments from Federal Reserve officials helped shift investors’ focus to the prospect of additional rate hikes this year, after Fed member Charles Evans said he has confidence that two total rate increases in 2017 seems “very safe”.
Federal Reserve Bank of Boston President Eric Rosengren took a somewhat bullish outlook on possible rate hikes, after he said the US central bank should be prepared to raise interest rates a total of four times in 2017 to prevent the US economy from overheating.
BBN/SK/AD