U.S. Dollar Rises As China Economy Grows

(RTTNews) - The U.S. dollar strengthened against other major currencies in the Asian session on Monday, as a Japanese holiday reduced liquidity and made China's very lackluster weekend stimulus measures the center of attention for the market.

China's finance ministry flagged more fiscal stimulus over the weekend but left out key details on the overall size of the package. Meanwhile, China's consumer inflation unexpectedly eased in September, while producer price deflation deepened, raising concerns about weak domestic demand.

Traders react to the report showing producer prices in the U.S. were unexpectedly unchanged in September, reinforcing optimism the U.S. Fed will continue lowering interest rates in the coming months, although hopes for another 50-basis point cut next month largely evaporated.

"After an upside surprise from the September CPI report, producer prices came in below expectations and provide support for a 25bps rate cut in November," said Matthew Martin, a Senior U.S. Economist at Oxford Economics.

Crude oil prices saw a modest pullback after surging in the previous session. West Texas Intermediate crude for November delivery dipped $0.29 or 0.4 percent to $75.56 a barrel. Despite the pullback on the day, the price of crude oil jumped by 1.6 percent for the week.

In the Asian trading today, the U.S. dollar rose to 4-day highs of 1.0915 against the euro, 149.37 against the yen and 0.8587 against the Swiss franc, from Friday's closing quotes of 1.0937, 149.13 and 0.8570, respectively. The greenback may test resistance around 1.08 against the euro, 154.00 against the yen and 0.87 against the franc.

Against the pound, the greenback edged up to 1.3041 from Friday's closing value of 1.3066. On the upside, 1.29 is seen as the next resistance level for the greenback.

Against the Australia and the New Zealand dollars, the greenback advanced to 4-day highs of 0.6722 and 0.6082 from last week's closing quotes of 0.6750 and 0.6109, respectively. If the greenback extends its uptrend, it is likely to find resistance around 0.66 against the aussie and 0.59 against the kiwi.

The greenback climbed to nearly a 2-1/2-month high of 1.3789 against the Canadian dollar, from Friday's closing value of 1.3762. The next possible upside target for the greenback is seen around the 1.39 region.

Looking ahead, U.S. NY Fed 1-Year Consumer Inflation Expectations for September is due to be released in the New York session.

Canadian markets will remain closed in observance of the Thanksgiving day holiday.