Disappointing economic data from the U.S. on Friday resulted in the U.S. Dollar later suffering the largest single day’s decline in more than three weeks. As the trading week opened in Asia, the greenback nursed its losses in a calm start, as market players consider that the Federal Reserve might once again postpone tightening monetary policy until later in 2015. On Friday, the U.S. Labor Department reported that new private sector jobs slowed in July while the unemployment rate unexpectedly inched higher back to 6.2%, giving validation to the Federal Reserve’s dovish bias.
As reported at 12:21 p.m. (JST) in Tokyo, the U.S. Dollar Index edged further from the recently struck 10-month high of 81.573 .DXY; on Friday, the Index lost 0.2%, a minimal loss after a better than 2% rise during the month of July. The EUR/USD recovered to $1.3400 after striking a 8-month low last week while the USD/JPY edged lower to 102.56 Yen, moving away from a 4-month peak at 103.15 Yen.
Retail Sales Lift Aussie Dollar after Soft China Data
In China,the non-manufacturing sector PMI reading for July fell to a 6-month low at 54.2, edging down from June’s reading of 55. That news is likely to weigh on Antipodean currencies given that both New Zealand and Australia have a significant trading relationship with China; any apparent slowdown in the Chinese economy impacts the economies and currencies of its trading partners. The AUD/USD traded $0.9322, getting a surprise boost from an uptick in Australia’s retail sales. Meanwhile, the NZD/USD was lower at $0.8507.