US Dollar Heads Higher on Spanish Concerns

Once again, the US dollar index is heading higher, gaining as concerns about what’s happening in the eurozone take precedence over much else. Greenback is also getting help from the fact that the US economy seems ready to recover better than the eurozone economy right now.

US dollar is higher against European currencies today, gaining against the euro and the pound. The economic situation in the United States is showing some improvement, with March retail sales gaining by 0.8% since February — and up more than 6% since March 2011. The news is helping the US dollar as concerns about the eurozone economy (which some think might be in recession or heading that way) continue to hold the 17-nation currency down.

Concerns about Spain continue to weigh on the eurozone, and there are still issues regarding the British economy, so the euro and the pound are both losing ground to the dollar. And, interestingly, just after the Chinese introduced a wider trading band for the yuan against the US dollar, the greenback ended higher against the yuan. It’s an interesting day right now, with the greenback gaining against other majors, except the yen, which is higher against the dollar.

At 14:36 GMT EUR/USD is lower at 1.3049, down from the open at 1.3064. GBP/USD is down to 1.5845 from the open at 1.5853. USD/JPY is down to 80.4145 from the open at 80.8495.