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Forex - Dollar Down Against Yen In Asia As Alabama Senate Race Produces An Upset

Published 12/12/2017, 10:43 PM
Updated 12/12/2017, 10:43 PM
Dollar down in Asia

Dollar down in Asia

Investing.com - The dollar fell in Asia on Wednesday after a forecast win for a democrat candidate in a US Senate race with potential implications for President Trump's tax cuts.

USD/JPY changed hands at 113.19, down 0.32%, while AUD/USD traded at 0.7575, up 0.22%.

Democrat Doug Jones of Alabama Tuesday scored an upset win in a deeply Republican state, capturing the U.S. Senate seat here in a special election that drove a wedge within the Republican party and gave Democrats another burst of momentum ahead of the 2018 midterm races.

The Associated Press declared Jones, a 63-year-old former federal prosecutor, the winner over Republican Roy Moore, whose campaign was dogged in the final month of the race by allegations from several women who accused him sexual misconduct when they were teens and he was in his 30s. Mr. Moore denied any wrongdoing and declined calls from Republican party leaders to step aside in the race for the seat Jeff Sessions held before he became attorney general.

The race was closely watched by markets because of the potential impact on a razor-thin margin in the Senate ahead of an expected final vote on Trump's tax cut plans.

Earlier, Japan reported core machinery orders for October with a jump of 5.0%, compared to a 2.8% gain seen on month and a 2.3% rise, compared to a 2.8% decline expected on year.

The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, fell 0.18% to 93.89.

According to investing.com’s fed rate monitor tool, 100% of traders expect the Federal Reserve to raise rates on Wednesday for the third time this year.

Overnight, the dollar rose to three-week highs against a basket of major currencies after upbeat wholesale inflation data suggested that weakness in inflation could be waning ahead of the Federal Reserve interest rate decision.

The Labor Department said on Wednesday its producer price index for final demand increased 0.4% last month. In the 12 months through August, the PPI rose 3.1% after rising 2.8% in October. That beat economists’ forecast of a 2.9% for November.

The upbeat wholesale inflation report raised expectations for a solid consumer inflation report due Wednesday. Bank of Tokyo Mitsu said the PPI data showed a sharp improvement in producer inflation, and added that the demand-led price push from higher commodity prices was a “classic” signal of increasing inflationary pressures.

Investor focus, meanwhile, is expected to shift to monetary policy as the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) got its two-day meeting underway on Tuesday, ahead of the Wednesday’s interest rate decision.

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