The dollar fell broadly on Thursday, hitting a one-year low against the euro, as equities and commodities advanced on expectations of economic recovery. European stocks rose half a percent, tracking Asian equities and Wall Street higher after data on Wednesday showed US industrial production rose more than expected in August, boosting sentiment towards riskier assets and eroding the dollar's perceived safe-haven appeal.
Many expect the dollar's weakening to continue. "With risk appetite so strong, the dollar remains under broad-based pressure and we cannot see anything on the horizon to alter that today," said Chris Turner, head of FX strategy at ING. The euro rose as high as $1.4768 on trading platform EBS, its highest since mid-September last year. By 1125 GMT, it was flat on the day at $1.4718.
The single currency showed limited reaction to figures showing a higher-than-expected trade surplus in the euro zone for July, due to a recovery in exports. Some in the market say the recent euro rally could encounter profit-taking, with sell orders seen around $1.4770/80. Traders also cited options with a strike price around $1.4760 set to expire later in the day.
The falling dollar pushed gold prices to an 18-month high and within a stone's throw of its record peak of $1,030.80 an ounce. That in turn helped boost non-dollar currencies, analysts said. The yen got a boost after Bank of Japan Governor Masaaki Shirakawa said a stronger yen would push down prices in the near term but might support the economy in the longer run.
Speaking after the BoJ held interest rates at 0.1 percent while upgrading its economic assessment, he added he would carefully monitor the impact of currency moves and that rates should be formed in a stable manner in the market. The dollar fell as low as around 90.50 yen after his comments, before pulling back slightly to 91.02 yen, to trade 0.2 percent higher on the day.
The pair hovered near a seven-month low of 90.12 yen on EBS on Wednesday. Options with a strike price between 90.30 yen and 91.00 yen were seen expiring later in the day. Dollar weakness was reflected in the dollar index, which hit a one-year low of 76.010 before pulling back to 76.246.
The high-yielding Australian and New Zealand dollars each hit 13-month highs against the dollar, while the Canadian currency rose to its strongest since early October. The market trend is to sell dollars on optimism about the global economy and over diversification concerns, and analysts said such selling was likely continue in the near term. "We had a very whippy market a few weeks ago, but now it looks like we're heading into trends," said Peter Frank, currency strategist at Societe Generale in London.
The Swiss franc hit its highest in more than one year around 1.0285 to the dollar ahead of a Swiss National Bank policy announcement at 1200 GMT. The central bank will likely stick to its ultra-loose monetary policy even as it is set to raise its growth forecasts.
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