Yahoo Finance Dollar Remains Slightly Lower after U.S. Jobs Report
Investing.com - The dollar remained slightly lower against the other major currencies on Monday after Friday’s U.S. jobs report tempered expectations for a faster rate of rate hikes by the Federal Reserve this year.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a basket of six major currencies, was at 89.94 by 10:13 AM ET (14:13 GMT), down 0.13% for the day.
The U.S. economy added 313,000 jobs in February, the Labor Department reported Friday, but average hourly earnings rose by just 0.1%.
The strong jobs growth boosted risk appetite, while the slowdown in wage growth dampened expectations for four rate hikes by the Fed this year, a negative for the dollar, which tends to become more attractive to yield-seeking investors when borrowing costs rise.
The euro was little changed, with EUR/USD last at 1.2310 after rising as high as 1.2341 earlier.
Sterling pushed higher against the softer greenback, with USD/GBP climbing 0.27% to 1.3889.
The pound’s gains were held in check amid fears that an upcoming Brexit summit meeting later this month would fail to secure a transition arrangement.
Sterling was higher against the euro, with EUR/GBP down 0.2% to 0.8863.
Against the yen, the dollar was lower, with USD/JPY down 0.24% to 106.54.
Demand for the Japanese currency was boosted amid concerns over a cronyism scandal linked to the country’s prime minister and his wife involving the sale of public land. The safe haven yen tends to rise in times of market uncertainty.
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