The US Dollar gave back recent gains after a disappointing outcome in September's PMI surveys flamed investors' concerns that the United States could be headed into a recession. The Institute for Supply Management reported on Thursday that the non-manufacturing sector reading fell to 52.6 last month, from August's 56.4; analysts had been forecasting a slight decline in the reading to 55.0. The Markit survey for the Services sector was flat at 50.9, as expected. Also weighing on sentiment was the latest data on jobless claims which unexpectedly increased for both new and continuing claims, while the previous readings were revised higher.
The US Dollar Index was trading at 98.8380 .DXY, a loss of 0.03% as of 10:41 am in Tokyo. The EUR/USD was higher at $1.0979, a gain of 0.0738%, while the GBP/USD was at $1.2347, up 0.0803%. The AUD/USD and the NZD/USD are also higher at $0.6751 and $0.6322, respectively.
US Labor Numbers in Focus
After Wednesday's disappointing ADP figures, FX traders will be watching closely for the release later today of the US Labor Department's Non-farms payroll numbers. The latest poll suggests that September's figures could rise to 145,000 new jobs, up from 130,000 last month. Some currency strategists are skeptical, however, and say that any disappointment will only serve to increase negative sentiment for the greenback. The Federal Reserve Bank will also be watching the outcome closely, and expectations of a rate cut are likely to grow if the NFP numbers fail to meet analysts' expectations.