Treasury - Daily Forex for day 16.07.2006

The U.S. dollar firmed against the yen and the euro this morning after the Bank of Japan lifted overnight rates to 0.25%, as expected, ending an era of zero rates, but said interest rates can be kept low for some time. On Thursday, a surprisingly steep increase in U.S. jobless claims had little impact on the dollar. Looking ahead, market attention will shift to U.S. retail sales data and University of Michigan's preliminary consumer sentiment index both due out this morning.

The crown continued to fall against the euro yesterday, copying the bearish trend in other central European currency markets.