The dollar is creeping up — here’s what’s happening in FX

Investing.com

Good morning!

It’s pretty quiet out there on Wednesday.

Here’s the scoreboard as of 7:50 a.m. ET:

• The US dollar is off 16-month lows. The dollar index ticked up by as much as 0.3% at 93.25 earlier in the morning, before reversing a bit. It’s now up 0.2% at 93.11. Folks will be keeping an eye on resistance in the 94.00 area into Friday’s jobs report.
• The British pound is weaker by 0.2% at 1.4056 after construction PMI disappointed. April’s reading came in at 52.0, below expectations of 54.0. Also, for what it’s worth, Bloomberg’s Brexit tracker shows “Leave” inching towards a lead.
• The euro is little changed at 1.1496 after Markit’s latest services PMI data showed “tepid” but “sustained” growth in the eurozone. April’s final reading slipped to 53.1 on expectations it would inch up to 53.3 from 53.2. But although the number was down from the preliminary reading, it showed a solid expansion in the region’s services sector.
• The Japanese yen is little changed at 106.74 after Japanese Finance Minister Taro Aso once again expressed concern about the exchange rate after the yen surged to an 18-month high, according to Bloomberg.
• The South African rand is weaker by 0.6% at 14.7316. Somewhat notably, Bloomberg reports that South Africa, which is the biggest corn producer on the continent, became a net importer of grain for the first time since 2008 this year in part due to El Niño.