Dollar under pressure in Asia after jobs data

FE Team | Published: April 08, 2014 00:00:00 | Updated: November 30, 2026 06:01:00

TOKYO, Apr 7 (AFP) : The dollar faced downward pressure in Asia on Monday as investors bet the Federal Reserve will not speed up the pace of tapering of its stimulus programmeme after last week's US jobs report matched forecasts.
The greenback fetched 103.03 yen in Tokyo afternoon trade, compared with 103.26 yen late in New York and well below the 103.88 yen in Tokyo earlier Friday before the jobs data was released.
The euro bought 141.17 yen, down from 141.50 yen in New York on Friday and 142.36 yen on Friday in Tokyo. Against the dollar, the euro fetched $1.3701, slightly down from $1.3704 in US trade. The Labor Department said the world's number one economy added 192,000 jobs in March-just below forecasts of 195,000 -- while the unemployment rate held steady at 6.7 per cent.
Analysts had predicted the dollar would rally if the report showed more than 225,000 jobs added but would retreat if the figure came in below 150,000.
While the figures were an improvement on the previous three months-which were hit by a severe winter-they suggested the jobs sector is still not strong enough for the Fed to speed up the tapering of its monetary easing campaign. A quicker wind-down would tend to boost the dollar.
The report also showed average hourly earnings rose by 2.1 per cent year-on-year, slower than an increase of 2.2 per cent in February and expectations of 2.3 per cent, National Australia Bank said.
"This keeps (Fed chair) Janet Yellen with the whip hand in arguing that there remains plenty of slack in the labour market," it added.
In Tokyo, the Bank of Japan started a two-day policy meeting on Monday.
Most analysts expect it hold off further easing measures as it gauges the impact of an April sales tax hike-Japan's first in 17 years-on the country's budding economic recovery.
The dollar also faced pressure as Tokyo stocks have slipped, with the benchmark Nikkei index losing 1.69 per cent by the close.