THE TRADER'S JOURNAL

US Dollar Shows Mixed Trading Amid Inflation Data

The US dollar exhibited mixed performance against major opponents after the releasing of January inflation report during New York morning trading on Friday. The greenback edged down against the euro and the franc, while showed strength versus its British and Japanese counterparts.

According to figures released by the Labor Department, U.S. consumer prices rose by less than expected in the month of January.

The Labor Department said its consumer price index rose by 0.2 percent in January after coming in unchanged in December. Most economists had forecast a slightly bigger 0.3 percent increase in January.

The price increases were broadly spread across the economy, with "core" prices, which exclude the volatile food and energy sectors, also rising by 0.2 percent in January. The market consensus correctly forecast the 0.2 percent in core prices.

Similarly, the price indexes for food and energy both increased by 0.2 percent.

In an another economic report from U.S. showed that index of leading economic indicators increased for the fourth consecutive month in January, reported by the Conference Board .

The Conference Board said its leading economic index rose by 0.4 percent in January following a revised 0.5 percent increase in December. Economists had been expecting the index to increase by 0.5 percent compared to the 0.4 percent increase originally reported for the previous month.

Extending its European session's downtrend, the greenback declined further against the euro and the Swiss franc in today's New York deals. At 9:25 am ET, the greenback fell to fresh multi-day lows of 1.3198 versus the euro and 0.9162 versus the franc, compared to yesterday's close of 1.3132 and 0.9195, respectively. Currently, the dollar is trading near 1.3165 against the euro and 0.9178 versus the franc.

At the same time, the US currency traded higher against its British and Japanese counterparts in North American deals today. Against the yen, the greenback extended its previous session's uptrend and hit a new multi-month high of 79.41 at around 10:10 am ET. The pair that closed Thursday's New York session at 78.95, is now worth 79.34.

The dollar also advanced versus the pound and currently trading near 1.5815 from early European session's multi-day low of 1.5864. The pair closed yesterday's North American session at 1.5802.

by RTT Staff Writer