The US Dollar was mixed in Asian trading today but the Dollar Index is still likely to record losses for the week. FX traders are anxiously awaiting the release of the non-farm payroll data due out later today and expectations are high that new private sector jobs will have increased to 176,000 in January which is the figure analysts are forecasting. Yesterday, data showed that US initial jobless claims unexpectedly declined last week while worker productivity slowed in Q4.
As reported at 11:28 am (JST) in Tokyo, the USD/JPY pair was trading at 112.569 Yen, down 0.24%. The AUD/USD was down 0.19%, trading at $0.7646 while the NZD/USD was nearly flat at $0.7289. The USD Dollar Index edged up 0.1% on Thursday but is poised to post a 0.6% weekly loss.
Geopolitical Risk Weighs on Dollar
The US Dollar has been taking a beating in the last week, especially given all the Trump generated headlines and protectionist posturing. Markets have been growing jittery ever since the US President began saber rattling, with Iran the latest target. Analysts believe that growing geopolitical risk could weigh heavily on the US Dollar until markets receive some clarity.