Bennie Kincaid 
On Thursday, there was a broad rise in the US dollar as safe-haven demand for the currency surged amidst worries about the US economy.
Meanwhile, the Japanese yen also resumed its ascent, with investors hiking up bets about the possibility of the Bank of Japan (BOJ) moving away from its stance regarding yield curve control.
US data
On Wednesday, week US data showed that retail sales had declined in December by the most in nearly a year and there had been the biggest drop in manufacturing output in almost two years.
This prompted concerns that the biggest economy in the world was moving toward a recession. Currency analysts said that this weak data had increased market concerns about an imminent recession in the US.
Therefore, it had given support to the greenback and they also added that it was expected to become the narrative in the next few months.
Other currencies
There was a 0.17% drop in Sterling, which brought it down to $1.2327 after it had reached a one-month high of $1.2435.
There was also a 0.49% drop in the Aussie to $0.690 after it had recorded losses on Wednesday of about 0.64%.
There was also a 0.02% drop in the euro that brought it to $1.0792, putting it at a distance from the nine-month high it had touched on Wednesday at $1.08875.
This was even after the hawkish stance of Francois Villeroy de Galhau, the chief of the French central bank, about the future rate hiking path of the European Central Bank (ECB).
The greenback
Risk aversion was the market theme for the day, worsened by the job cuts announced by Amazon and Microsoft, which also pushed up demand for the US dollar.
Market analysts said that the impact of the monetary policy tightening of the US Fed would become more and more apparent over time.
But, it should be noted that the greenback was unable to record gains against the Japanese yen, which had dropped by 0.4% to reach 128.42 yen.
This saw it reverse most of the rally of the previous day in the aftermath of the Bank of Japan (BOJ) deciding to continue with its ultra-loose monetary policy.
The Japanese central bank defied expectations when it opted to maintain its interest rate targets as well as yield band.
In fact, it actually came up with a new weapon aimed at preventing an excessive increase in long-term rates. This decision resulted in a 2% drop in the Japanese yen against the dollar and other currencies.
Moreover, Japanese government bond yields also dropped. The euro also dropped against the yen by 0.39% at 138.58 yen, while a 0.23% drop in the Sterling was recorded, which brought it to 158.27 yen.
Analysts said that the decline in yen shows that the market believes the BOJ will eventually shift its policy, even though it has opted to be inactive for now.
There was a 0.09% gain recorded in the US dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of major currencies, as it reached 102.42.
