Asian session review: the dollar consolidated against major currencies

During today's Asian trading, the US dollar was trading steadily against major currencies.

The ICE index, which tracks the dynamics of the dollar against six currencies (euro, swiss franc, yen, canadian dollar, pound sterling and swedish krona), fell by 0.02%.

Traders continue to evaluate the statistical data on the US economy, trying to predict the future actions of the Federal Reserve System (Fed).

Earlier this week, the minutes of the April meeting of the Fed were published, in which many economists saw "hawkish" signals.

Some of the leaders of the Federal Reserve during the meeting held on April 27-28, noted the need to discuss the possibility of reducing incentives in the event of further improvement of the situation, according to the minutes.

Statistics on the US labor market were stronger than expected, which increased risk appetite in global markets. The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits for the first time last week decreased by 34 thousand - to 444 thousand people, the lowest since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Analysts expected a reduction in the number of applications to 450 thousand.

Meanwhile, UK data showed that retail sales volumes grew sharply in April 2021 with a monthly increase of 9.2%, reflecting the effect of the easing of coronavirus (COVID-19) restrictions including the re-opening of all non-essential retail from 12 April in England and Wales and from 26 April in Scotland. Economists had expected a 4.5% increase.