The dollar continued to surge for second day in a row as finance ministers meet at the Group of 20 to find amicable solutions to what is widely perceived as currency wars.
The Dollar Index grew less than 0.1 percent, but still improved its position after seeing major slumps in the last few days. The greenback rose 0.3 percent to trade at $1.3883 per euro and climbed 0.2 percent against the pound to trade at $1.5670 at 10 a.m. in London. The euro saw a dip of 0.3 percent to trade at 112.87 yen; the dollar, however, did not see much movement at 81.27 yen, after dropping to 80.99 yen earlier.
G-20 meeting is expected to see a number of heated discussion and pitches by finance ministers but the consensus remains that there will be an agreement where members would refrain from “competitive undervaluation” of their respective currencies. U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner has already proposed G-20 members to reduce trade imbalances “below a specified share” of their economies though it is not known how many members agree with his proposal.
U.S. futures oscillated after the S&P 500 closed up 0.2 percent yesterday given better earnings from EBay Inc. to McDonald’s Corp. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index added 0.1 percent thus beating a five-day retreat.
The MSCI Emerging Markets Index dipped 0.4 percent thus continuing with its first weekly drop since August.
U.S Treasuries did not see much movement and are set for a weekly gain, with the 10-year note yield at 2.54 percent. The 30-year bond yield trended two basis points lower at 3.93 percent at 7 a.m. in New York.
