Asian Session – Dollar extends losses as US nonfarm payrolls disappoint
January 13, 2014 7:09 am
The US dollar extended losses from Friday’s tumble following the dismal nonfarm payrolls which cast doubt on the Fed taper. The weak jobs number in December leads to speculation that the pace of tapering could possibly be a bit slower than expected going forward.
A mere 74,000 jobs were created last month which was well short of at least 200,000 that most economists had expected.
The dollar struggled against the yen and plunged to 103.24 in the Asian session, the lowest level since December 18 , extending lower from Friday’s close of 104.06. The dollar finished the Asian session down 0.51% at 103.45.
The surprisingly weak payrolls number sparked risk-off sentiment in markets, benefitting the yen as safe haven flows poured into the Japanese currency.
The yen also rose against the euro and the pound in Asia today. The euro fell to a 3-week low of 141.20 yen while the pound dipped to a 1-week low of 170.37.
The euro benefited from the weak dollar and maintained its gains from Friday’s rally to 1.3686 and consolidated in a range during the Asian session today. The euro ended the Asian session at 1.3669, down 0.07% from the session open.
Helping support the euro was last week’s European Central Bank decision to leave monetary policy unchanged and rates at 0.25%.
Sterling was also helped by broad dollar weakness. Cable hit 1.6515 on Friday, close to a 2-year high of 1.6592 hit on January 2nd. The pair traded close to this level in Asia today, ending the sesssion at 1.6494, up 0.06%.
Last week’s Bank of England decision to keep its asset purchase program unchanged at 375 billion-a-month and rates at 0.50% has lent support to the British currency.
The pound’s direction now depends on UK inflation data. The CPI report is due later in the European session.
The Australian dollar gained ground against its US counterpart, climbing to 1-month high of $0.9040. Since the release of Friday’s non-farm payrolls, the aussie has risen over 1.5% against the greenback.
Today’s releases of Australian data on home loans and jobs advertisements also helped buoy the aussie.
The US dollar extended losses from Friday’s tumble following the dismal nonfarm payrolls which cast doubt on the Fed taper. The weak jobs number in December leads to speculation that the pace of tapering could possibly be a bit slower than expected going forward.
A mere 74,000 jobs were created last month which was well short of at least 200,000 that most economists had expected.
The dollar struggled against the yen and plunged to 103.24 in the Asian session, the lowest level since December 18 , extending lower from Friday’s close of 104.06. The dollar finished the Asian session down 0.51% at 103.45.
The surprisingly weak payrolls number sparked risk-off sentiment in markets, benefitting the yen as safe haven flows poured into the Japanese currency.
The yen also rose against the euro and the pound in Asia today. The euro fell to a 3-week low of 141.20 yen while the pound dipped to a 1-week low of 170.37.
The euro benefited from the weak dollar and maintained its gains from Friday’s rally to 1.3686 and consolidated in a range during the Asian session today. The euro ended the Asian session at 1.3669, down 0.07% from the session open.
Helping support the euro was last week’s European Central Bank decision to leave monetary policy unchanged and rates at 0.25%.
Sterling was also helped by broad dollar weakness. Cable hit 1.6515 on Friday, close to a 2-year high of 1.6592 hit on January 2nd. The pair traded close to this level in Asia today, ending the sesssion at 1.6494, up 0.06%.
Last week’s Bank of England decision to keep its asset purchase program unchanged at 375 billion-a-month and rates at 0.50% has lent support to the British currency.
The pound’s direction now depends on UK inflation data. The CPI report is due later in the European session.
The Australian dollar gained ground against its US counterpart, climbing to 1-month high of $0.9040. Since the release of Friday’s non-farm payrolls, the aussie has risen over 1.5% against the greenback.
Today’s releases of Australian data on home loans and jobs advertisements also helped buoy the aussie.
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