Asian session review: the US dollar fell moderately against major currencies

During today's Asian trading, the US dollar declined against major currencies, and reached its lowest level since January 7.

The ICE index, which tracks the dollar's performance against six currencies (euro, swiss franc, yen, canadian dollar, pound sterling and swedish krona),was down by 0.21% to 89,65.

Risk appetite in global markets is growing, and the yield of US government bonds are falling, which puts pressure on the dollar.

The focus of traders this week is on US GDP data for the first quarter of 2021. The PCE Core Index, a key measure of inflation tracked by the Federal Reserve System, is traditionally published as part of the GDP report. The consensus forecast of experts provides for the growth of the PCE Core index in the first quarter by 2.3%. In the fourth quarter of last year, the index increased by 1.3%.

The strengthening of inflation in the United States, together with the improvement in the labor market and the economy as a whole, may force the Fed to raise the rate earlier than markets expected, analysts say.

The euro rose against the US dollar and the yen. The strengthening of the european currency is due to the continued recovery of the euro zone economy, while the growth of risk appetite puts pressure on the yen as a "safe haven"asset.