By: Barbara
The U.S. Dollar continues earlier gains versus major currencies but was held in check below a recent 2-week high following the recent release of U.S. labor data which showed that American job losses slowed significantly last month, and which led many investors to conclude that future reports may trigger a rise in interest rates by the Federal Reserve Bank later in the year. Investors are anxious to see whether or not impending U.S. labor reports will bolster that belief; according to one currency trader in Japan, market players are anxious to see whether a recovery is actually taking place.
As reported at 12:55 p.m. (JST) in Tokyo, the U.S. Dollar Index rose .3% to trade at 81.042 .DXY, a slight retreat from a 2-week high hit on Monday of 81.466 .DXY. The Euro slipped to $1.3860 versus the Euro, a loss of .3%; on Monday, the Euro traded at $1.3806 on the EBS platform, the lowest trade in nearly 2 weeks. The Pound Sterling also slipped against the U.S. Dollar, losing .4% to trade at $1.5994. Versus the Japanese Yen, the U.S. Dollar slipped slightly, trading at 98.20 Yen; analysts attribute the dollar’s decline to selling by exporters from Japan.