During the Asian trading session, the U.S. Dollar languished close to a 1-month trough after suffering from the largest weekly fall in two months as a result of disappointing economic data pushed investors to the sidelines and dampened the greenback’s allure. Last week, the revised third reading of GDP data and unexpectedly soft consumer spending resulted in a widespread downgrade of growth forecasts.
As reported at 11:52 a.m. (JST) in Tokyo, the U.S. Dollar Index had dipped to a low of 80.010 .DXY before edging up to 80.042 .DXY. The EUR/USD eked out a 0.4% gain for the week despite the news that the European Central Bank intends to maintain its dovish bias; the pair was trading at $1.3647, not far from last Wednesday’s 2½ Low. The USD/JPY also took a 0.6% fall and held close to a 5-week low, trading at 101.28 Yen, at the same time the EUR/JPY lost 0.3% for the week to trade at 138.42 Yen.
Upbeat Jobs Report Forecast
Markets will focus on this Thursday’s labor data from the U.S., due out a day earlier than its normal first Friday release due to the Independence Day holiday in the U.S. Analysts are anticipating that the non-farms report will show that 250,000 new jobs will have been added in June, and if that forecast materializes the expectations are that the dollar would outperform its major rivals, despite the dismal first quarter.