RTTN: Dollar Rises Further Versus Yen Thursday Morning
(RTTNews) - The dollar rose further versus the yen on Thursday, bolstered by renewed faith in the global recovery and speculation that political instability in Japan could keep its economy in the doldrums.
Stocks futures were pointing to another strong day on Wall Street, following gains in equities markets in Europe and Asia.
Today's focus is likely to be on the ADP's private sector employment report, which is seen as a leading indicator for Friday's government data. Economists expect job gains of 60,000 for the month. The report is due to be released at 8:15 am ET.
Additionally, the weekly jobless claims report due to be released at 8:30 am could draw some attention. The consensus calls for a dip in claims to 455,000 for the week ended May 29th.
At the same time, the Labor Department will also release the final first quarter productivity report. Economists expect the productivity growth to be downwardly revised to 3.3%.
The dollar extended its gains from the previous session versus the yen amid reports that resigning Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama will be succeeded by Finance Minister Naoto Kan, who advocated for a weaker yen earlier this year.
The buck hit a 2 1/2 week high of 92.70 versus the yen, having bounced back and forth around the 90 mark for most of 2010.
The dollar firmed up against the euro after some initial weakness this morning, rebounding to 1.2250. Earlier this week, the buck hit a fresh 4-year high of 1.2111.
The volume of retail trade in the eurozone decreased by 1.2% in April compared with March, data released by Eurostat showed on Thursday. Economists had forecast a 0.1% rise in sales. In March, retail sales had risen 0.5%.
The dollar remained in neutral versus the sterling, holding near 1.4680. The buck has been drifting slightly lower since hitting a yearly high near 1.4220 in mid-May.
U.K.'s house price index rose 0.5% month-on-month in May, the Nationwide Building Society said Thursday. Prices rose for a third straight month. Economists had forecast 0.3% growth.
In April, prices rose 1%.
With commodity prices gaining traction, the dollar dropped to C$1.0350 versus its resource-backed Canadian counterpart.
