What to keep in mind on Tuesday, April 2:
The US dollar was the most favored currency at the end of trading on Monday, as some major markets remained closed for Easter Monday. Attention focused on growth-related numbers as China reported upbeat manufacturing output in March. However, the news failed to maintain investor optimism.
Financial markets on Friday appreciated the news that US inflation, as measured by the personal consumption expenditure (PCE) price index, remained at 2.8% annually in February. Following the report, Federal Reserve (Fed) Chairman Jerome Powell stated that the central bank is in no rush to raise rates in a context of still high inflation and a resilient economy.
Over the weekend, European Central Bank (ECB) officials made hawkish comments that also did little to lift morale. The Governor of the Central Bank of Austria, Robert Holzmann, declared on Sunday that the ECB could cut interest rates before the US Fed. When the ECB pulls the trigger “will largely depend on the development of wages and prices in June,” Holzmann added. Likewise, Bank of Greece Governor Yannis Stournaras put several rate cuts on the table for this year, stating that it is “possible” to cut 25 basis points (bp) four times this year.
The US Dollar gained momentum following the release of a much better than expected US Manufacturing PMI (ISM). The report showed that economic activity in the manufacturing sector expanded in March after 16 straight months of contraction, and the index jumped to 50.3 from 47.8 in February. At the same time, S&P Global also released the final estimate of its manufacturing PMI, which was confirmed at 51.9, below the expected 52.5 but still at expansionary levels.
EUR/USD settled around 1.0740, not far from the February low at 1.0694. GBP/USD is trading around 1.2545, while USD/CHF is comfortably above 0.9040. Commodity currencies fell along with US indices, with AUD/USD trading around 0.6480 and USD/CAD as low as 1.3580. Finally, USD/JPY stands at 151.60.
Gold soared to $2,265 a troy ounce, an all-time high, before falling back towards $2,240 by mid-US afternoon.
Price of the US dollar today
The following table shows the percentage variation of the United States Dollar (USD) against the main currencies quoted today. The US dollar was the strongest currency against the British pound.
| USD | EUR | GBP | CAD | AUD | JPY | NZD | CHF | |
| USD | 0.48% | 0.72% | 0.43% | 0.72% | 0.17% | 0.61% | 0.31% | |
| EUR | -0.48% | 0.24% | -0.04% | 0.25% | -0.31% | 0.12% | -0.17% | |
| GBP | -0.73% | -0.25% | -0.29% | 0.01% | -0.57% | -0.12% | -0.42% | |
| CAD | -0.43% | 0.03% | 0.27% | 0.29% | -0.27% | 0.16% | -0.13% | |
| AUD | -0.73% | -0.25% | -0.01% | -0.30% | -0.56% | -0.13% | -0.42% | |
| JPY | -0.17% | 0.33% | 0.55% | 0.29% | 0.59% | 0.45% | 0.14% | |
| NZD | -0.61% | -0.13% | 0.11% | -0.16% | 0.12% | -0.45% | -0.31% | |
| CHF | -0.31% | 0.18% | 0.42% | 0.13% | 0.42% | -0.14% | 0.31% |
The heat map shows the percentage changes of the major currencies against each other. The base currency is chosen in the left column, while the quote currency is chosen in the top row. For example, if you choose the Euro in the left column and scroll down the horizontal line to the Japanese Yen, the percentage change that appears in the box will represent EUR (base)/JPY (quote).
Source: Fx Street
I am Joshua Winder, a senior-level journalist and editor at World Stock Market. I specialize in covering news related to the stock market and economic trends. With more than 8 years of experience in this field, I have become an expert in financial reporting.
