Stock Market

Story: Dollar Drops as Global Currencies Show Wild Swings

By Julie Binoche

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The greenback took a hit Thursday. Currency markets went crazy with the dollar index falling 0.3% to 94.

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European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde dropped some pretty big hints about policy changes coming down the pipeline, and that sent the euro flying higher by 0.4% to $1.

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The yen got crushed, dropping 0.5% to hit 115.00 per dollar as speculation around the Bank of Japan's ultra-loose monetary policy kept weighing on the currency.

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Britain's pound stayed put at $1.3620, basically unchanged from Wednesday's close. The Bank of England's got a big policy meeting coming up and that's keeping traders pretty…

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Emerging markets were all over the place Thursday.

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Brazil's real jumped 0.6% after their central bank surprised markets with a rate hike announcement that came out of nowhere. But Turkey's lira got hammered again, falling 0.

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Oil prices kept messing with currency moves too. Brent crude was trading around $82 per barrel after some decent gains earlier in the week, and that had energy-linked currencies…

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U.S. economic data painted a confusing picture Thursday. Jobless claims dropped to their lowest level in two months, which should've been good news for the dollar.

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The Federal Reserve's next meeting is what everyone's really watching though. Investors are desperate for clues about where interest rates are headed, especially with inflation…

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China's yuan didn't budge much, staying steady at 6.35 per dollar. The People's Bank of China seems determined to keep things stable, which probably reflects their broader…

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Geopolitical tensions aren't helping matters either. Ongoing conflicts keep messing with risk sentiment, and traders are staying on edge about global uncertainties that could…

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The Australian dollar managed to squeeze out a 0.2% gain to $0.7250 after some solid employment numbers from down under.

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Canada's loonie edged higher too, trading at 1.26 per U.S. dollar as rising oil prices provided some tailwind.

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Switzerland's franc stayed rock-solid at 0.92 per dollar. The Swiss National Bank isn't changing course anytime soon, and the franc keeps acting like a safe haven while…

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Mexico's peso slipped to 20.30 per dollar as inflation worries and potential central bank moves kept weighing on the currency.

The Currency Analytics

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