The US dollar fell against the euro and erased its previous gains versus the Great Britain pound and the Japanese yen after poor US employment data led to speculations that the Federal Reserve may delay monetary tightening.
Non-farm payrolls released today were rather disappointing with employment growth missing expectations and wage inflation staying near zero. The only positive part of the report was the bigger-than-expected drop of the unemployment rate. Meanwhile, the number of unemployment claims rose last week unexpectedly, adding to the negative news from the US labor market. And it is not just employment data that was disappointing as factory orders fell two times the expected amount.
With all the soft indicators, it is not a surprise that the dollar did not perform well today. Adding to the woes of the currency, the poor reports sparked talks that the Fed may wait before starting an interest rate hikes cycle.
EUR/USD rose from 1.1052 to 1.1102 as of 15:04 GMT today. GBP/USD bounced to 1.5607 after dropping from 1.5615 to 1.5563 earlier. USD/JPY was down from 123.16 to 123.04 following the rally to daily high of 123.72.
If you have any questions, comments or opinions regarding the US Dollar,
feel free to post them using the commentary form below.