Friday saw a decline in the majority of Asian currencies as the dollar held onto its overnight gains as signals of China’s ongoing economic deterioration mostly overshadowed hopes for a reduction in U.S. interest rates and inflation. China’s purchasing managers index (PMI) data through February indicated a slow recovery in economic activity, suggesting that the largest economy in Asia was still recovering slowly.
Dollar up as PCE data leads to a little rate reduction in positioning Both the dollar index and dollar index futures saw a minor decline in Asian trade on Friday, but they mostly held onto their gains from the previous day when data indicated that inflation declined.
Following two days of losses, the Australian dollar increased by 0.3% as investors placed bets that the Reserve Bank would not hike interest rates further. Key GDP numbers for the fourth quarter, which are due next week, were also under focus.
The Indian rupee continued its modest gains from Thursday, while the Singapore dollar remained unchanged. The statistics revealed that the Indian GDP expanded far more than anticipated in the December quarter, confirming India’s status as the world’s fastest-growing major economy.
