The dollar was slightly higher in Friday’s Asian session, halting a nine-day slide against the yen, as US Treasury yields rose. Markets received some clarity on the US House of Representatives vote on the new healthcare bill that would repeal and replace Obamacare.
The vote that was due on Thursday was postponed for Friday. Earlier in the week, the dollar came under pressure and US stock markets tumbled over concerns that President Trump won’t be able to get the bill passed.
The dollar index, which measures the greenback against six major currencies, inched higher today but remained below the key 100 level and close to a seven-week low of 99.547 hit on Wednesday.
The dollar edged up against the yen to rise back above the key 111.00 level after dipping below it to a four-month low yesterday. Gains may be limited as investors will likely remained sidelined waiting for the outcome of the vote.
The bump up in the greenback pushed the euro lower to fall to a session low of $1.0760, dropping for a third consecutive day.
Sterling was down 0.3% at $1.2490. It jumped to a one-month high of $1.2532 yesterday after strong UK retail sales data.
The Australian dollar slid to an eight-day low of $0.7610 following a drop in the iron ore price, which is a major export for Australia.
Data out during the Asian session included Japanese manufacturing PMI. The flash reading for March came in at 52.6, marking a three-month low, and was lower than February’s 53.3 print. The data weighed on the yen.
Looking ahead to the rest of the day, markets will watch out for manufacturing and services PMI data out of the Eurozone. Other releases include, Canadian inflation data and US durable goods orders. The highlight of the day will be the vote in the US House on the healthcare bill.
