13th Aug 2015 14:02
CANBERA (Alliance News) - The US dollar continued its advance against the other major currencies on Thursday, as retail sales improved in line with forecasts in July, while easing worries over China devaluing the yuan rekindled hopes for a Fed rate hike at September meeting.
Data from the Commerce Department showed that the retail sales rose by 0.6% in July, while revised data showed that sales were unchanged in June.
Sales had been expected to climb by 0.6% compared to the 0.3% drop originally reported for the previous month.
The US import prices fell less-than-expected in July, according to a report released by the Labor Department.
The report said import prices fell by 0.9% in July after coming in unchanged in June. Economists had expected prices to drop by about 1.0%.
Additionally, the Labor Department said export prices edged down by 0.2% in July after falling by 0.3% in the previous month. Export prices had been expected to drop by another 0.3%.
In a press conference, the People's Bank of China Assistant Governor Zhang Xiaohui said that the yuan depreciation is unlikely to continue, given strong economic fundamentals of the country.
The market-oriented exchange rate formation mechanism is more conducive to long-term stability, Yi said. The flexible exchange rate will increase the central bank's monetary policy independence, the official added.
The greenback has been trading trading higher in the European session, following the reassurances by China that it is not intending to conduct a competitive depreciation of the yuan.
In New York deals, the greenback edged up to 1.5600 against the Sterling and 1.1079 against the euro, from its early lows of 1.5636 and 1.1188, respectively. The greenback is likely to challenge resistance around 1.55 versus the Sterling and 1.10 against the euro.
The greenback, having declined to 124.06 against the yen at 9:15 pm ET, reversed direction with the pair trading at 124.62. The pair was worth 124.20 when it closed yesterday's trading. If the greenback extends rise, 126.00 is possibly seen as its next resistance level.
Data from the Cabinet Office showed that Japan core machine orders tumbled 7.9% on month in June.
That missed forecasts for a decline of 5.1% following the 0.6% increase in May.
The greenback was trading higher at 0.9774 against the Swiss franc, compared to 0.9750 hit at yesterday's close. The greenback is seen finding resistance around the 0.99 mark.
Data from the Federal Statistical Office showed that Switzerland's producer and import prices dropped at a faster-than-expected pace in July.
Producer and import prices fell 6.4% year-over-year in July, faster than June's 6.1% decline. Economists had expected a 6.3% fall for the month.
The greenback rose to 1.3063 against the loonie and 0.6549 against the kiwi, reversing from its previous lows of 1.2958 and 0.6640, respectively. On the upside, 1.32 and 0.64 are likely seen as the next possible resistance levels for the greenback against the loonie and the kiwi, respectively.
Following a 2-day decline to 0.7408 against the aussie at 9:30 pm ET, the greenback reversed direction with the pair trading at 0.7342. The greenback is poised to challenge resistance around the 0.71 level.
Looking ahead, the US business inventories data for June is due shortly.
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX