The US dollar was slightly higher on Friday, coming off its strongest level for the day, as risk appetite returned to the market in the afternoon with US equities recovering from early losses and Treasury yields extending their rise.
Investors also consolidated gains made on other currencies at the expense of the US dollar ahead of a long weekend in the US.
Financial markets are closed tomorrow for Presidents Day.
The outlook for the US dollar remained lower, according to Marshall Gittler, head of investment research at BDSwiss Group.
The greenback is “considered the safest of safe havens and tends to fall when people are not looking for safe havens,” Gittler said. “With markets rallying and the US Fed on hold indefinitely, I expect the dollar to be widely used as a funding currency, pushing its value down.”
In afternoon trading, the dollar index rose 0.1 percent to 90.494 after subdued volumes in Asia because of the Lunar New Year.
On the week, the index fell 0.6 percent, its first losing week in three — in what ING Groep NV analysts described as a “consolidative mood” amid uncertainty about the pace of the US economic recovery. Weaker-than-expected weekly US jobless claims data on Thursday added to concerns the US dollar’s previous rally had priced in too fast an economic rebound.
The US dollar was up 0.2 percent against the yen at ¥104.97. It fell 0.4 percent on the week, its steepest fall since mid-December.
The euro slipped 0.1 percent to US$1.2116, but on the week, the single European currency rose 0.5 percent. The British pound rose 0.2 percent versus the US dollar to US$1.3848, despite data showing Britain’s economy suffered a record slump last year, although it did grow in the final quarter.
The Australian dollar, a proxy for risk appetite, rallied from lows to trade flat on the day at US$0.7753. The New Zealand dollar likewise cut its losses against the greenback.

Mercuries Life Insurance Co (三商美邦人壽) shares surged to a seven-month high this week after local media reported that E.Sun Financial Holding Co (玉山金控) had outbid CTBC Financial Holding Co (中信金控) in the financially strained insurer’s ongoing sale process. Shares of the mid-sized life insurer climbed 5.8 percent this week to NT$6.72, extending a nearly 18 percent rally over the past month, as investors bet on the likelihood of an impending takeover. The final round of bidding closed on Thursday, marking a critical step in the 32-year-old insurer’s search for a buyer after years of struggling to meet capital adequacy requirements. Local media reports

US sports leagues rushed to get in on the multi-billion US dollar bonanza of legalized betting, but the arrest of an National Basketball Association (NBA) coach and player in two sprawling US federal investigations show the potential cost of partnering with the gambling industry. Portland Trail Blazers coach Chauncey Billups, a former Detroit Pistons star and an NBA Hall of Famer, was arrested for his alleged role in rigged illegal poker games that prosecutors say were tied to Mafia crime families. Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier was charged with manipulating his play for the benefit of bettors and former NBA player and

The DBS Foundation yesterday announced the launch of two flagship programs, “Silver Motion” and “Happier Caregiver, Healthier Seniors,” in partnership with CCILU Ltd, Hondao Senior Citizens’ Welfare Foundation and the Garden of Hope Foundation to help Taiwan face the challenges of a rapidly aging population. The foundation said it would invest S$4.91 million (US$3.8 million) over three years to foster inclusion and resilience in an aging society. “Aging may bring challenges, but it also brings opportunities. With many Asian markets rapidly becoming super-aged, the DBS Foundation is working with a regional ecosystem of like-minded partners across the private, public and people sectors

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