Dollar gains on better-than-feared US job report
Sunday, 3 August 2008
NEW YORK, Aug 2 (AFP): The dollar firmed against the euro yesterday after the US government reported fewer than expected job losses in July and fresh data pointed to an economic downturn in the eurozone.
The single European currency stood at 1.5555 dollars around 2100 GMT, down from 1.5587 late Thursday.
The dollar slightly weakened against the Japanese currency, slipping to 107.68 yen from 107.87.
In late New York trade, the dollar stood at 1.0497 Swiss francs, up from 1.0474 late Thursday.
The pound was at 1.9753 dollars, down from 1.9836.
Jamie Saettele, an analyst at Forex Capital Markets, said that as long as the euro is below 1.5699 dollars, "the USD bull trend is considered intact and the probability that the USD advance accelerates is high."
The US Labor Department reported that employers shed 51,000 nonfarm jobs in July, marking a seventh straight month of job cuts as the economy struggles for momentum.
But the monthly government snapshot was not as bad as feared, as most economists had predicted 75,000 jobs would be lost during July.
The national unemployment rate meanwhile ticked up to 5.7 per cent-striking its highest level in four years-from 5.5 per cent in June, a shade higher than most forecasts.
"The report signals that the pace of job losses has lessened over the past few months relative to the losses seen earlier in the year, though the labor market remains weak enough to cause the unemployment rate to continue to trend higher," said Barclays Capital analyst Dean Maki.
Maki said the findings suggested that the US Federal Reserve would make no change in US interest rates through the rest of the year.
The euro was under pressure following the release of a survey showing lackluster manufacturing activity in the 15-nation eurozone.
The purchasing managers' index for the eurozone manufacturing sector fell in July to its worst level in more than five years as raw materials costs continued to soar, pressuring manufacturers into raising prices at the fastest rate in 18 months.
The single European currency stood at 1.5555 dollars around 2100 GMT, down from 1.5587 late Thursday.
The dollar slightly weakened against the Japanese currency, slipping to 107.68 yen from 107.87.
In late New York trade, the dollar stood at 1.0497 Swiss francs, up from 1.0474 late Thursday.
The pound was at 1.9753 dollars, down from 1.9836.
Jamie Saettele, an analyst at Forex Capital Markets, said that as long as the euro is below 1.5699 dollars, "the USD bull trend is considered intact and the probability that the USD advance accelerates is high."
The US Labor Department reported that employers shed 51,000 nonfarm jobs in July, marking a seventh straight month of job cuts as the economy struggles for momentum.
But the monthly government snapshot was not as bad as feared, as most economists had predicted 75,000 jobs would be lost during July.
The national unemployment rate meanwhile ticked up to 5.7 per cent-striking its highest level in four years-from 5.5 per cent in June, a shade higher than most forecasts.
"The report signals that the pace of job losses has lessened over the past few months relative to the losses seen earlier in the year, though the labor market remains weak enough to cause the unemployment rate to continue to trend higher," said Barclays Capital analyst Dean Maki.
Maki said the findings suggested that the US Federal Reserve would make no change in US interest rates through the rest of the year.
The euro was under pressure following the release of a survey showing lackluster manufacturing activity in the 15-nation eurozone.
The purchasing managers' index for the eurozone manufacturing sector fell in July to its worst level in more than five years as raw materials costs continued to soar, pressuring manufacturers into raising prices at the fastest rate in 18 months.