Positive data helps dollar gain on yen

The dollar sat close to one-month peaks versus the yen in Wednesday’s early Asian trade after positive retail sales figures cooled suggestions of further Federal Reserve stimulus.

The growth in retail sales, which largely broadened across the board, enhanced the opinion that the slowdown in the country’s economic growth in the second quarter was likely to be short lived and triggered a rise in US Treasury yields.

The combination of this helped the greenback climb by more than 0.5 per cent to reach 78.94 yen at one stage. It was last seen hovering around 78.74 yen. The dollar was also up against the euro and Australian dollar as investors opted against bearish bets.

DailyFX currency analyst David Song said that the US dollar may remain in its lofty positions throughout the week as the data published by the country cools talk of further monetary stimulus. Later on Wednesday, figures will be released regarding the US industrial output and consumer inflation, with the former predicted to have gone up marginally compared to June and the latter likely to remain flat.

The euro fell from Tuesday’s high of $1.2386 to $1.2318, while the Australian dollar dropped to a one-and-a-half-week low of $1.0487. The dollar index climbed to 82.544, edging up from a one-week trough of 82.196.
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