Despite less than stellar jobs data on Friday, the U.S. dollar traded near three-month highs early in Monday’s Asian session, buoyed by solid data about service sector activity. The dollar was up 0.25 against the yen, trading at 114.35 after gaining 0.5 percent earlier in the session to a high of 114.735 yen, and was up 0.04 percent against the Canadian dollar as of 11:15 a.m. HK/SIN on Monday.
The jobs data released last Friday showed disappointing U.S. wage growth, but analysts have signaled expectations that this move is temporary and comfortably in-line with recent trends.
The dollar was unchanged against the British pound even as the sterling inched higher against most of its trading partners after a devastating day on Friday which resulted in the biggest one-day decline since the week after the Brexit vote. The pound’s 1.7 percent drop last week resulted from the announcement of the Bank of England on Thursday which indicated that there would be only two more interest rate hikes in the next two years.
Oil Prices Head Higher
Oil prices were broadly higher on Monday morning, trading near the highest levels since July 2015 after Saudi Arabia’s crown prince Mohammed bin Salman ordered several high-profile arrests in a widespread anti-corruption crackdown. The arrests cemented bin Salman’s power but are not expected to bring with them any policy changes in the near term.
U.S. WTI futures were up 0.25 percent to $55.78 per barrel while Brent crude futures gained 0.34 percent to $62.28 per barrel. Also supporting the price increase was a decrease of eight oil rigs in the U.S. last weeks, the biggest reduction since May 2016.