US dollar managed to reduce earlier losses against the euro on Thursday, registered after the dovish tone of the comments by FED Chairman Bernanke yesterday.
EUR/USD slid from 1.3065 at 12:30 GMT to 1.3013 at 12:54 GMT, but still was up by 0.28% for the day. Support was likely to be received at current session low, 1.2961, while resistance was to be encountered at June 21st high, 1.3253.
Minutes ago the Department of Labor announced that the number of people, who filed for unemployment assistance in the United States unexpectedly rose by 16 000 to 360 000 during the week ended on July 6th 2013, opposing expectations of a drop by 4 000 to 340 000. This suggested that US labor market recovery was still frail. Average value of the indicator, which lacks seasonal effects, increased by 6 000 to 351 750 from 345 750 previously during the past four weeks. Still, the overall lay-off level suggested that US economy has added more jobs than it has lost. In April this year initial jobless claims recorded a five-year low, but since then they have been increasing gradually due to the slower rate at which employers added job positions.
Additionally, US import price index decreased for the fourth consecutive month in June, by 0.2% on a monthly basis, slowing down the drop in comparison with the preceding month, when this index erased 0.7%. Experts had projected that import prices will remain unchanged. In annual terms, the indicator increased by 0.2% during June, the largest climb since April 2012, while in May it declined by 1.9%. It seemed that weaker foreign demand led to lower inflationary pressure, as prices of oil products contributed to these results.
US dollar took a sharp fall against its major peers after yesterday Federal Reserve Bank Chairman Ben Bernanke said, that central bank’s policy should remain accommodative, even after the minutes of FED’s June meeting revealed that there were debates, regarding a possible exit to the stimulus program.
Meanwhile, the European Central Bank’s monthly bulletin said on Thursday that the extended period of time the bank expected interest rates to remain at present or lower levels was flexible and further rate cuts were possible.
Earlier today it also became clear that Unemployment rate in Greece hit new record highs, while the government maintained the course of austerity and companies abstained from making investments in the country. Unemployment rate reached 26.9% in April from 26.8% in March. In April 2012 the rate was 23.1%. Youth unemployment recorded new highs as well, increasing to 57.5% in April 2013, while in April 2012 unemployment among people, aged between 15 and 24, was 51.5%.
Elsewhere, the euro was lower against the British pound, as EUR/GBP cross erased 0.14% to reach 0.8634. EUR/JPY pair, on the other hand, was almost without change, ticking up 0.02% to 129.41.
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