Dollar hits fresh session highs after mixed US jobs report
Published Apr 07, 2017 12:39PM ET
The dollar recovered from a brief dip to trade higher on Friday
Investing.com - The dollar traded higher against a basket of major currencies on Friday, after expectations of a June rate hike remained unaffected by the release of a mixed U.S. jobs report.
The dollar initially dipped, after the headline payrolls number was weaker than expected but recovered to trade at the session highs, as investors continued to back a June rate hike amid a drop in the U.S. unemployment rate.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday, Nonfarm payrolls grew by just 98,000 in March, well below expectations of 180,000, but the unemployment rate fell to a 10-year low of 4.5%.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, added 0.29% to 100.90 by 12:46 EDT.
The weaker than expected headline nonfarm payrolls print, had little impact on traders’ expectations of a June rate, as the majority of traders expected the Federal Reserve to hike interest rates in June.
According to investing.com’s Fed rate monitor tool, the probability of traders that expect a June rate hike remained at 58%, unchanged from the previous day.
The dollar remained at highs, as investors poured into safe haven assets, as a slew of geopolitics events came to the fore, after the United States launched cruise missiles at an airbase in Syria while a terrorist attack was confirmed in Sweden, earlier today.
The U.S. military action in Syria came fresh off the heels of President Trump’s comments on Thursday, after Mr Trump blamed the chemical attack, earlier this week, on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
“I think what Assad did is terrible” President Trump said Thursday.
Meanwhile, investors continued to focus on the final day of a two-day summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping.
EUR/USD traded at $1.0609, down 0.33%, while EUR/GBP gained 0.23% to 0.8558.
GBP/USD lost 0.58% to $1.2397, after a weaker than expected UK manufacturing data weighed on sentiment.
USD/JPY traded mostly flat at 110.77 while USD/CAD dipped 0.22% to $1.3383.
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Written By: Investing.com
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