US$ fall on rising jobless claim hits kina

UNEXPECTED rise on US jobless claim for week ended Feb 13 saw the greenback dip against Japanese yen and other major currencies late last week.
A weak US dollar saw a weaker  kina too.
Coupled with decline on kina-US$, kina-Aussie dollar cross slipped by 0.9%.
All eyes are now on US economic reports for December quarter gross domestic product (GDP), consumer sentiment for February and existing home sales for January, all scheduled for release shortly.
A strong data should be positive for the greenback and is also supportive to kina crosses.
But, there is a downside risk to kina-Aussie cross as markets expect interest rate rise in Australia in the coming month.
In the interbank market, the kina-US dollar exchange rate declined by 0.1% this week due to the same story from the previous week – slow US dollar inflows and strong import demand.
The Central bank provided some support to assist with import requirements.