Asian session review: the dollar fell against the yen, the euro is trading near a 2-year high against the dollar

During today's Asian trading, the US dollar fell against the yen and euro. The euro is trading near its highest since September 2018. The euro continues to be supported by the results of the EU summit, where the anti-crisis plan and the EU's seven-year budget were agreed.

At the same time, the European Parliament (EP) criticized the decisions of the EU summit. The EP resolution adopted on Thursday notes that the budget cuts run counter to the EU's goals. In addition, уuropean deputy considered that European leaders "failed to resolve the issue of repayment of the costs of the recovery tool"

The yen rose to its highest in 4 weeks on the back of growing demand for safe haven assets due to the deterioration of relations between the US and China. The Chinese foreign Ministry announced today the closure of the US Consulate General in Chengdu, the administrative center of Sichuan province. Earlier, US authorities ordered the closure of the Chinese Consulate General in Houston.

The ICE Dollar index, which shows the value of the dollar against six major world currencies, fell by 0.05% relative to the previous day.

On Thursday, the US labor Department reported that the number of Americans who first applied for unemployment benefits in the week ending July 18, increased by 109 thousand to 1.416 million people. At the same time, analysts expected that the number of applications will be 1.3 million.