Euro up against the dollar following disappointing economic first quarter

Published: 6 May at 8 AM Tags: Euro, Dollar,

A disappointing economic first quarter in the US has caused the dollar to slip. During March the US trade deficit hit $51.4 billion, an increase of 43.1 per cent, mainly due to an increase in imports. There are fears from some analysts that the lack of growth may have caused the GDP to have contracted over the first three months of the year.

The dollar index, a measure of how well the greenback is performing against a number of other global currencies, has fallen from 95.946, its highest level in a week, to 94.866.

The euro is creeping back towards last Friday’s two-month peak of $1.1290 and is currently trading up 0.4 per cent at $1.1229.

Analysts will now be concentrating on business data in Europe and non-farm payroll figures from the US on Friday. The dollar is up 0.1 per cent against the yen at 119.95 yen.

There has been a rally for the commodity currencies. The Australian dollar is up 0.4 per cent to $0.7967. The Aussie found support after the Reserve Bank of Australia failed to give a clear sign as to whether it would be introducing further easing measures. Many had expected a cash rate cut.