The US dollar gained against the euro and a basket of currencies on Monday after European Central Bank officials spoke of possible further actions to boost the region's struggling economy and Japan unexpectedly slipped into recession. ECB President Mario Draghi said the central bank is ready for further stimulus if its current efforts are not sufficient to accelerate the region's recovery.
The comments came after ECB Executive Board member Yves Mersch said the central bank could theoretically extend purchases to gold, shares, or exchange traded funds (ETFs) or other assets if more action is needed. The dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of major currencies, gained 0.44 percent to 87.908, just below four-year highs of 88.267 set on Friday.
The euro was last US $1.2456 dollars, down from $1.2577 dollars earlier on Monday. The Japanese yen fell to seven-year lows against the US dollar earlier on Monday before stabilising as stocks in the country, which typically move inversely to the currency, fell.
"It tells you the intensity of the carry trade, central banks are trying to force people out of their currency," said Sebastien Galy, senior foreign exchange analyst at Societe Generale in New York. The US dollar is seen continuing to strengthen on an expectation the Federal Reserve will increase interest rates next year at the same time as the Japanese and European central banks continue highly stimulative policies to boost their economies.
Japan's shock fall back into recession in the third quarter sets the stage for Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to delay an unpopular sales tax hike and call a snap election two years before he has to go to the polls. The yen is likely to remain volatile on any news of these events. "There are going to be quite a few things for the market to digest and we could see a fall in stocks and strengthening in the yen," said Martin Schwerdtfeger, a foreign exchange strategist at TD Securities in Toronto. The US dollar was last at 116.46 yen, after earlier rising as high as 117.04 yen.
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