Asian session: The dollar headed for weekly gains against the euro and the yen

00:00 Australia Bank holiday

The dollar headed for weekly gains against the euro and the yen as improving economic data backed speculation the Federal Reserve will remove stimulus this year.

The greenback rose for a fifth day yesterday against a basket of peers after data showed manufacturing in the Philadelphia region grew at the fastest pace in seven months. The Philadelphia Fed’s factory index increased to 16.6 in April, the highest since September, data showed yesterday. Initial jobless claims rose by 2,000 to 304,000 in the week ended April 12 from a revised 302,000 the prior period that was the lowest since September 2007, a Labor Department report showed.

Other figures showed the number of Americans filing for unemployment insurance payments hovered near a seven-year low, while an index of leading indicators next week is forecast to rise. The index of U.S. leading indicators probably rose 0.7 percent in March, the most since November, according to the median estimate of economists in a Bloomberg News poll before the data are released on April 21.

Australia’s dollar headed for its worst week since January. Currency volatility sank to an almost seven-year low.

Financial markets in the U.S., U.K., Germany, Hong Kong, Singapore, Australia and New Zealand are among those that are closed for a holiday today.

EUR / USD: during the Asian session, the pair traded in the range of $ 1.3810-20

GBP / USD: during the Asian session, the pair traded in the range of $ 1.6775-95

USD / JPY: during the Asian session, the pair rose to Y102.55