News Financial

The major currencies

The major currencies were subjected to choppy and volatile trading in the Wednesday session with the dollar initially plunging to an all-time low against the Swiss franc and a fresh two and a half year low versus the yen. The greenback, however, managed to lick its wounds by the New York afternoon – rebounding from beneath the 106-level versus the yen to 107.90 and recovering above the 1.10-mark against the franc.

The December consumer price index revealed buoyant inflation conditions, at 0.3% m/m and 4.1% y/y. The excluding food and energy figure was unchanged at 2.4% y/y. Industrial output was flat, versus a 0.3% increase a month earlier. The NAHB housing market index for January was unchanged at 19.

The Fed was more upbeat in its Beige Book, saying “economic activity increased modestly mid-November through December, albeit at a slower pace”. The Fed said holiday retail spending was subdued, with further weakness in auto sales. It saw weakness in residential real estate across the US, while commercial real estate remained mixed.

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