Dollar falls against commodity currencies but keeps profit against yen by Reuters

By Stanley White

TOKYO (Reuters) – The dollar fell on Monday against the currencies of major commodity exporters as investors raised bets on countries that will benefit from rising oil, metals and other commodity prices.

The dollar also fell slightly against the British pound and the euro, but held off for several months against the yen and the Swiss franc due to rising Treasury yields.

Analysts have said that sentiment for the dollar has improved due to positive economic data and progress towards a $ 1.9 billion stimulus package, but that the greenback will continue to struggle against commodity currencies amid strong expectations for a recovery in world trade.

“We are seeing a significant difference in the dollar,” said Yukio Ishizuki, foreign exchange strategist at Daiwa Securities.

“Commodity prices are simply not falling, so the dollar can by no means rise against the and the dollar. However, the dollar will remain strong against the yen, because yields are the main driver.”

The Australian dollar rose 0.3% to $ 0.7702, while the New Zealand dollar rose 0.18% to $ 0.7177. The antipodean currencies are both in demand due to their ties to the global commodity trade.

The US currency fell 0.38% against the Norwegian krone to 8.5283 and slightly decreased to 1.2637 Canadian dollars as traders bought the currencies of oil exporters.

Some traders said that a jump in futures contracts to more than $ 70 a barrel for the first time in more than a year caused a wave of bids for commodity currencies at the start of trading in Asia.

Against the euro, the dollar weakened slightly to $ 1.1921, but to $ 1.3844 against the British pound.

The opposite of a basket of six major currencies stood at 91,895, not far from a three-month high reached on Friday. According to data, the US economy has created more than twice as many jobs as expected in February.

Speculators have lowered their net short dollar positions to $ 27.80 billion in the past week, the smallest short position since December 15, indicating that dollar stocks are giving up on betting against the greenback.

The dollar traded at 108.35 yen, near a nine-month high. The dollar was also live against the Swiss franc, which traded near an eight-month high of 0.9319, strengthened by rising Treasury returns.