So, here’s what’s happening on Thursday, February 4th.
Major currency pairs were rather quiet early on Wednesday as investors prepared for some critical macroeconomic data. Eurostat is set to release the January inflation figures later, while the U.S. economic calendar features private sector employment data and PMI data from the Institute for Supply Management.
On Tuesday, the U.S. House of Representatives approved a plan to end the partial government shutdown that started on Saturday. However, this news didn’t seem to move the market much, as the major U.S. stock indexes closed significantly lower. The U.S. dollar (USD) index experienced small losses throughout the day. By Wednesday morning in Europe, the U.S. dollar index was steady, hovering below 97.50, while U.S. stock index futures inched up by around 0.2% to 0.3%.
USD price this week
Below is a summary of the changes in the U.S. dollar (USD) against major currencies this week. It’s worth noting that the dollar has strengthened most against the Japanese yen.
| USD | EUR | GBP | JPY | CAD | australian dollar | new zealand dollar | swiss franc | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| USD | 0.15% | -0.14% | 0.92% | 0.20% | -1.14% | -0.50% | 0.42% | |
| EUR | -0.15% | -0.34% | 0.80% | 0.04% | -1.30% | -0.65% | 0.26% | |
| GBP | 0.14% | 0.34% | 1.01% | 0.38% | -0.97% | -0.32% | 0.60% | |
| JPY | -0.92% | -0.80% | -1.01% | -0.70% | -2.06% | -1.35% | -0.76% | |
| CAD | -0.20% | -0.04% | -0.38% | 0.70% | -1.32% | -0.68% | 0.22% | |
| australian dollar | 1.14% | 1.30% | 0.97% | 2.06% | 1.32% | 0.66% | 1.58% | |
| new zealand dollar | 0.50% | 0.65% | 0.32% | 1.35% | 0.68% | -0.66% | 0.92% | |
| swiss franc | -0.42% | -0.26% | -0.60% | 0.76% | -0.22% | -1.58% | -0.92% |
This heat map indicates the percentage change between major currencies, using the left column as the base currency and the top row as the quote currency. For instance, selecting USD from the left and moving across to JPY shows the percentage change in that box as USD (base)/JPY (estimate).
In New Zealand, data revealed a slight increase in the unemployment rate, which rose to 5.4% in the fourth quarter from 5.3%. After an uptick of nearly 0.8% on Tuesday, the New Zealand dollar/US dollar pair was holding steady around 0.6050 on Wednesday morning.
Australian dollar/US dollar experienced a notable rise exceeding 1% thanks to the Reserve Bank of Australia’s (RBA) interest rate hike and a hawkish outlook, remaining in positive territory above 0.7000.
Gold continued its upward trend, trading above $5,000 early Wednesday, appreciating over 2% on a daily basis. Silver also experienced a rally for the second consecutive day, climbing more than 4% and trading above $89.
Euro/USD, which gained around 0.25% on Tuesday, is now hanging onto modest gains above 1.1800. The Harmonized Index of Consumer Prices (HICP), favored by the European Central Bank (ECB), is anticipated to show an annual rise of 1.7% in January, lower than the 1.9% increase noted in December.
GBP/USD is trading in a narrow range above 1.3700 as the European session begins. The Bank of England (BoE) is set to announce its monetary policy decision on Thursday.
USD/JPY continued its ascent, having risen for three consecutive days, approaching the 156.50 mark.
