The South African rand dropped versus the US dollar today, following yesterday’s decline, on the speculation that the growth of the manufacturing output slowed in South Africa.

The Australian dollar fell today as the signs of the slower economic growth, particularly in the US and China, damped the demand for the riskier currencies.

The US dollar fell versus the Japanese yen and also declined against the Great Britain pound and the euro, remaining above the opening level though, after the Federal Reserve decided to keep the interest rates at the record low level.

The South African rand fell today after a week of gains versus the US dollar as the nation’s economy may deteriorate after as much as 1.3 million government workers will go to strike to demand the higher wages.

The Chinese yuan declined today after the US currency rallied and the central bank lowered the reference rate; the increasing exports and the resulting trade surplus weren’t able to support the currency.

The Canadian dollar fluctuated against the greenback before the FOMC meeting and gained versus the euro after the stocks and crude oil rallied, boosting the currencies related to the growth.

The Japanese currency fell today against the US dollar on the outlook that the Federal Reserve will introduce the additional stimulus, supporting the US economy. The yen also fell versus some higher-yielding currencies, including the Australian dollar, after the stocks rallied.

The euro endured hard times this year as the financial crisis in the European Union made us question the very existence of the currency. Therefore, the rally it showed this summer was rather unexpected. The experts expected the rally to end soon, perhaps even this month. Does the outlook changed? Not much, though it became somewhat more bullish.

The New Zealand dollar fell today after the report showed that the house prices increased with slower pace, causing the speculation that the central bank wouldn’t raise the interest rates next month.

The South Korean won extended its rally for yet another day as the anticipation that the central bank would raise the interest rates increased the appeal of the currency.