US Trade deficit decreases in August. Dollar mixed in Forex Trading, gains for the week. | CountingPips Forex Blog

October 10, 2008 - Forex Economic News

US Trade deficit decreases in August. Dollar mixed in Forex Trading, gains for the week.

The United States trade deficit decreased more than expected in August according to a release by the Commerce Department today. The U.S. trade deficit declined by 3.5 percent as the deficit registered $59.1 billion in August following a revised deficit of $61.3 billion in July. Market forecasts were expecting a deficit of approximately $59.3 billion for the month. USD gains this week in forex trading The U.S. had a total of $164.7 billion worth of exports in August which was a decrease of $3.4 billion over July's total. August also saw a reduction in imports as it totaled $223.9 billion worth of imports compared with $229.4 billion in July for a decrease of $5.5 billion for the month. Contributing to the lower trade deficit in August was a decrease of imports of crude oil which totaled $37.0 billion for the month after oil imports had increased for five straight months.

Dollar mixed, finishing week higher vs all but yen.

The U.S. dollar has been mixed in forex trading against the major currencies today but has gained against every major for the week except the Japanese yen which has advanced against every major this week.

EUR/USD

The euro has declined against the dollar today as it is trading at the 1.3409 dollars per euro level in the late afternoon of the U.S. trading session after opening today at approximately 1.3601. The EUR/USD is falling verses the dollar for the 2nd straight day and will close the week lower verses the buck for the second week in a row.

GBP/USD

The British pound has fallen against the dollar to trading at 1.7042 dollars per pound today after opening today's trading at 1.7092. The pound has lost ground to the dollar for the third straight day and this week will be the 2nd straight week losing ground to the USD.

USD/JPY

The dollar has gained against the yen in trading today at 100.20 yen per dollar after opening verses the Japanese currency today at approximately the 99.80 level. On a weekly basis, the dollar is on its way to falling verses the yen for the fourth straight weekly close as the yen has been the biggest beneficiary of the credit crisis as traders pare carry trades and risky positions.

USD/CAD

The U.S. dollar has gained ground against the Canadian loonie as the USD/CAD pair has gained from today's 1.1497 open to advancing to 1.1803 loonie per usd. The Canadian loonie is losing ground to the dollar for the second week in a row after gaining for three straight weeks.

USD/CHF

The dollar is gaining ground today against the Swiss franc as this pair trades at approximately 1.1337 today and up from the 1.1289 opening. The dollar has gained against the franc this week after two losing weeks. The dollar is advancing vs. the franc for the 2nd straight weekly close.

AUD/USD

The Australian dollar has lost ground today verses the dollar as the AUD/USD pair trades around the 0.6478 level after opening at approximately 0.6833. The Aussie is losing ground to the dollar for the third straight week after two consecutive gaining weeks.

NZD/USD

The New Zealand kiwi has also lost ground today verses the USD as the NZD/USD pair is trading around 0.5963 after opening at 0.6070. The kiwi is losing ground for the third week in a row to the dollar after two gaining weeks.

USD/CAD Chart - The US dollar gains against the Canadian dollar this week in forex trading and has advanced from 1.0325 on September 29th to above 1.1800 today(Weekly Chart).

Today's Forex Chart

tags: jobless claims, trade balance, forex trading, euro, dollar, gbp

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