The USD has firmed a little in Asian trade, with EUR/USD down at 1.3565 compared to a North American close Wednesday around 1.3600, while cable is down at 1.5130 from around 1.5155.
The move comes against the backdrop of heightened risk aversion, with Asian stocks posting chunky losses. The release of disappointing US retail sales yesterday certainly hasn’t helped sentiment.
The euro is also being underminned by increased speculation the ECB may signal further quantitative easing soon. The currency also has two risk events looming tomorrow in the form of euro zone Q-1 GDP and April CPI releases.
Cable meanwhile is also being weighed down by yesterdays downdeat Bank of England quarterly inflation report and accompanying King comments.
Even USD/JPY has moved higher, presently up about 20 points from the North American close Wednesday. The move is down to defensive buying ahead of option interest at 95.00.
