The euro falls 0.67% to $1.0611 and the pound sterling loses 0.9% at $1.2316, both retreating from six-month highs achieved this week, while the dollar rises 0.9% against the Japanese currency, to 136.69 yen.
The dollar was also stronger against the Swiss franc and the Norwegian kroneafter the Swiss central bank raised rates 50 basis points and its Norwegian counterpart did so by 25 basis pointsas expected by the market.
The euro reached $1.0737 earlier in the daythe highest level since June 9, after the ECB decision, before falling back to $1.0629, down 0.5% on the day.
The dollar briefly pared its gains after news on Thursday that US retail sales fell more than expected in November, likely offsetting the previous month’s gain, as the job market remains tight and the number of Americans filing for benefits for unemployment fell last week.
Sterling was down almost 2% at $1.2183as investors see the Bank of England as reaching the end of its rate hikes, while the bank raised its main rate from 3% to 3.5%.
The Australian and New Zealand dollars fell sharply against the dollar. The Australian currency was down 2.3% at $0.6702, while the New Zealand note was down 1.8% at $0.6345.
The Thursday’s moves came in the shadow of Wednesday’s Fed meetingin which the US central bank raised interest rates by 50 basis pointsin line with expectations, and made few changes to its official statement.
The dollar strengthened after its president, Jerome Powell, said there would be more increases next year and that the overnight reference interest rate would rise above 5% in 2023since the signs of deceleration of inflation have not provided confidence that the battle has been won.
In Asia, data released Thursday showed that the Chinese economy lost more steam in NovemberSince the factory production slowed down and retail sales extended their declines, both missing forecasts and posting their worst readings in six months, with the economy weighed down by rising COVID-19 cases.
Source: Ambito
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