The US dollar traded mainly lower on Friday as a brighter mood on global financial markets sharpened risk appetite and limited moves into safe haven currencies.
Sterling sank however on news that the British economy plunged deeper into recession in the first quarter of this year.
At 9pm GMT, the euro traded up at US$1.3242 from US$1.3144 late in New York on Thursday.
Against the Japanese currency, the dollar eased to ¥97.13 from ¥97.95 on Thursday.
The dollar has been seen as a safe haven from market turbulence, so the improved data hurt the greenback.
Durable goods orders fell 0.8 percent amid expectations for a 1.5 percent drop, but Schlossberg said a key measurement of future activity, capital spending rose for the second consecutive month, “suggesting of a possible turnaround in the not too distant future.”
New US home sales fell 0.6 percent last month from an upwardly revised level in February, another sign of a potential improvement.
In late New York trading, the US dollar stood at 1.1369 Swiss francs from SF1.1503 on Thursday.
The pound was at US$1.4663 after US$1.4721.
Asian currencies gained this week, led by Malaysia’s ringgit and the Singapore dollar, on signs record interest-rate cuts and government stimulus spending are helping revive economic growth.
The Bloomberg-JPMorgan Asia Dollar Index, which tracks the region’s 10 most-used currencies excluding the yen, rose as investors pumped more funds into emerging markets.
The New Taiwan dollar had a weekly advance, halting two weeks of losses, on speculation China’s economic stimulus measures are boosting demand for the nation’s exports.
The currency rose to the highest level in a week against the US dollar after reports this week showed export orders and manufacturing last month contracted by less than economists predicted in Bloomberg surveys.
The New Taiwan dollar rose 0.3 percent for the week to NT$33.711.
The ringgit climbed 0.9 percent to 3.5855 versus the US dollar this week in Kuala Lumpur, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The Singapore dollar strengthened 0.8 percent for the week to S$1.4902.
The New Taiwan dollar is on the verge of overtaking the yuan as Asia’s best carry-trade target given its lower risk of interest-rate and currency volatility. A strategy of borrowing the New Taiwan dollar to invest in higher-yielding alternatives has generated the second-highest return over the past month among Asian currencies behind the yuan, based on the Sharpe ratio that measures risk-adjusted relative returns. The New Taiwan dollar may soon replace its Chinese peer as the region’s favored carry trade tool, analysts say, citing Beijing’s efforts to support the yuan that can create wild swings in borrowing costs. In contrast,
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