US Dollar steadies against rivals as investors watch for U.S. jobs data
Frankfurt (Jun 3) The dollar firmed up against the yen and the euro in quiet Asian trade on Friday, as investors await the closely-monitored U.S. jobs data later in the day.
The greenback USDJPY, +0.01% was changing hands at ¥108.99 after falling to ¥108.52 overnight, its lowest since May 16. That compares with ¥108.88 late Thursday in New York.
The euro EURUSD, -0.0986% fell to $1.1139 from $1.1146 late Thursday. The common currency weakened overnight after European Central Bank President Mario Draghi left open the door to fresh action if inflation remains below target.
Sentiment has cleared up as the U.S. stocks and oil recovered, despite inability of a meeting of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries to reach an agreement on an output ceiling. In Tokyo, stocks managed to regain after a two-day losing streak, with the benchmark Nikkei Stock Average NIK, +0.48% rising 0.2% midday.
Read: OPEC’s plan to let crude prices rebalance themselves is panning out — so far
Many investors however, opted to sit on the sidelines during the Asian trading session rather than take positions aggressively ahead of the U.S. jobs report, which they expect will give more clarity about the Federal Reserve’s rate increase.
“Investors have no way but to take a look at (U.S. jobs) numbers,” said Toshihiko Sakai, senior manager of forex and financial products trading division at Mitsubishi Trust and Banking.
Tokyo-based dealers and analysts said the U.S. jobs data could be distorted by the weeks-long labor strike at Verizon Communications Inc. VZ, +0.67%
“I don’t think a gain of 160,000 will prevent the Fed’s rate increase,” said Sakai. Economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal expect the report to show employers added a seasonally adjusted 158,000 jobs in May, following a net gain of 160,000 a month ago.
Read: Here’s what to watch in the May jobs report
In other currency-pair trading, the euro EURJPY, -0.07% was at ¥121.40 from ¥121.43. The common currency hit ¥121.06 overnight, its lowest since April 2013.
The WSJ Dollar Index BUXX, +0.02% , a measure of the dollar against a basket of major currencies, was up 0.04% at 87.64.
Source: MarketWatch
