Last Friday’s release of private sector labor data from the US fell slightly short of expectations. However, those figures were still high enough to reinforce speculation that the Federal Reserve Bank is on track to raise lending rates, possibly as soon as next month. New jobs for July were reported by the US Labor Department at 215,000, against expectations of 223,000, falling from June’s 231,000 figure. Analysts say the numbers remain solid and are consistently strong, especially given the upward revisions of the previous two months.
As reported at 11:37 am (BDT) in London, the EUR/USD was lower at $1.0934, a decline of 0.26% and at the day’s low. The USD/JPY was trading higher at 124.4710 Yen, a rise of 0.46%. The US Dollar Index, used by FX traders to gauge the Dollar’s relative strength, was higher at 97.8510 .DXY, 0.30% higher.
Chinese Worries Weigh
On the other side of the world, concerns over China’s economic slowdown are weighing on commodity-linked currencies. Chinese exports fell to -8.3% last month, the largest fall in four months; experts had expected exports to fall to -1.0% (from 2.8%). Inflation data also disappointed investors. The AUD/USD was trading at $0.7354, down 0.72%, while the NZD/USD was trading at $0.6558, a decline of 0.96%.
