Dollar Weakens Ahead of Delayed US Jobs Data, Yen Gains More Strength
The US dollar weakened early in the Asian session on Tuesday, falling to a near two-month low as markets awaited the release of a slew of economic data—particularly the delayed US November jobs report. The dollar index fell 0.2% to 98.261, near its lowest level since October 17, while October-November jobs data was only recently released after being delayed during the US government shutdown.
HSBC analysts said this data is crucial for “closing the story” about labor conditions during the shutdown. The market is also still assessing the direction of the Fed's interest rate: Fed funds contracts are pricing in a 75.6% chance of the rate being held at its January 28 meeting. This week is heating up as many central banks meet—the Bank of Japan is expected to raise rates by 25 bps to 0.75%, while the Bank of England is expected to cut rates by 25 bps to 3.75%, while the ECB and several other European central banks are expected to leave rates unchanged.
Against the yen, the dollar fell slightly to 155.07, ahead of Friday's BoJ decision. The euro held steady at $1.17535, helped by news of progress in Ukraine peace talks, while the pound sterling was flat at $1.3376. The dollar also weakened against the offshore yuan at 7.0371, and the Antipodean currencies gained slightly. Cryptocurrency trading was muted: Bitcoin rose 0.2% to $86,420, and Ether gained 0.6% to $2,963. (asd)
Source: Newsmaker.id
