The dollar has crept higher this afternoon, triggered by the sturdy reading in the US July durable goods orders data.
Orders in July rose 8.7 per cent month-on-month to register the largest increase since October. The figure was well ahead of the consensus estimate of a 2.2 per cent rise. On a year-on-year basis, July orders were up 7.2 per cent.
The currency reaction was decidedly positive as the gains in the data were across the board, said Mr Kamal Sharma, currency strategist at Commerzbank.
"Particularly encouraging was the 8.1 per cent rise in the non-defence capital goods ex-aircraft component. It suggests a good recovery on the NAPM figures," he said.
But he advised caution against reading too much into the figures, saying the significant rise follows a very weak reading in June. "That is the caveat of course and the series has been very volatile," Mr Sharma said.
