The yen, which is especially sensitive to long-term interest rate differentials between the United States and Japan, ended a six-week losing streak, after the yield on the 10-year US Treasury fell back from a nearly four-month high of around 4.1%.
Cryptocurrencies were taking a beating as the crisis engulfing Silvergate deepened, after industry heavyweights such as Coinbase Global and Galaxy Digital parted ways with the lender as a banking partner.
The dollar index, which measures the performance of the greenback against the yen, the euro and four other currencies, it was down 0.3% at 104.60, from 105.36 at the start of the week, its highest level since January 6.
For the week, the index fell 0.5%, which is its biggest percentage drop since January 15.
The dollar briefly pared losses after data showed the US service sector grew at a steady pace in February, with new orders and employment rising to more than a year highs. The Institute for Supply Management (ISM) said on Friday that its non-manufacturing PMI fell to 55.1 from a reading of 55.2 in January.
Taking away from some of the dollar’s strength and the soaring U.S. returns were comments from Fed officials like Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic, who said “the appropriate course of action will be slow and steady.” , despite the fact that the new employment figures add to a recent series of strong data.
Analysts polled by Reuters said recent dollar strength was likely to be temporary and that the currency will weaken in the course of the year, amid an improvement in the world economy and expectations that the Fed will stop raising rates long before the European Central Bank.
The dollar fell 0.4% to 136.26 yen, after climbing to 137.10 on Thursday, the highest level since December 20. For the week, the dollar fell 0.4% against the yen.
The euro rose 0.3% to $1.0628, rising from a nearly two-month low of $1.0533 hit earlier in the week.
Bitcoin lost 4.9% to $22,306 after hitting a 2.5-week low of $22,000. Ethereum was down 5.4 to $1,559 after touching $1,543.60, its lowest since mid-February.
Source: Ambito
I am a 24-year-old writer and journalist who has been working in the news industry for the past two years. I write primarily about market news, so if you’re looking for insights into what’s going on in the stock market or economic indicators, you’ve come to the right place. I also dabble in writing articles on lifestyle trends and pop culture news.
