Forex - Dollar Steady as Tax Bill Eyed; Sterling Gains on Brexit Deal Hopes

The dollar was holding steady against a basket of the other major currencies on Thursday as investors watched progress on a U.S. tax reform bill, while sterling was boosted by hopes that a deal on Brexit would be reached.

The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was at 93.23 by 03:40 AM ET (08:40 AM GMT), but was on track for a monthly loss. The index was down 1.29% for November.

Data on Wednesday showing that the U.S. economy grew faster than initially thought in the third quarter gave a lift to the dollar.

The Commerce Department reported that U.S. gross domestic product grew at a 3.3% annual rate in the last quarter, the fastest rate since the third quarter of 2014.

Investors remained focused on the U.S. tax bill as the measure moved toward a U.S. Senate floor vote later this week, amid concerns over how much it will expand the federal deficit.

The dollar pushed higher against the yen, with USD/JPY rising 0.37% to 112.33 away from Monday's ten-week low of 110.85.

The euro was steady against the dollar, with EUR/USD at 1.1852, holding below Monday’s two-month high of 1.1961.

Sterling rose to two-month highs, with GBP/USD advancing 0.48% to 1.3471 after European Union diplomats said that Britain has moved "close" to EU demands over Brexit.

Elsewhere, the New Zealand dollar fell to more than one-week lows overnight, with NZD/USD down 0.65% to 0.6837.

The kiwi weakened after data showing that domestic business sentiment dropped to an eight-year low in November as companies worried about a change of government.

Bloomberg

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