Dollar eases after hitting highest in two weeks, US job data looms
updates prices
By Stefano Rebaudo
Sept 2 (Reuters) -The dollar edged down on Monday but remained within striking distance of its highest level in almost two weeks as investors' focus moved to a U.S. jobs report due at the end of this week.
U.S. payrolls, due on Friday, will be crucial after Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell pivoted from a battle against inflation to a readiness to guard againstjob losses.
Analysts say the job figures will determine the magnitude of the Federal Reserve's expected rate cut. Markets have already priced in for weeks a cut of 25 basis points.
Thegreenback had earlier advancedto its strongest since Aug. 20,buoyed by a rise in long-term Treasury yields to the highest since mid-August as inflation data pointed to a smaller rate cut.
U.S. grossdomestic product figures also indicatedthe economy was on a solid enough footing to give the Federal Reserve room to be less aggressive in easing its policy.
Traders currently see a 33% chance of a 50-bps Fed rate cut this month, while fully pricing in a quarter-point cut. A week earlier, expectations were 36% for the larger reduction.
"These days, it is all about economic figures," Athanasios Vamvakidis, global head of forex strategy at BofA, said.
"We expect the dollar to weaken in the second half of this year, but the market shouldn’t get too excited about it," he added, flagging a euro target at $1.12.
"The U.S. economy is slowing but is still doing much better than the rest of the world."
The dollar index =USD measure against six major peers weakened by 0.08% to 101.67, after hitting 101.79, a level not seen since Aug. 20.
It sank as low as 100.51 last week for the first time since July 2023 after Fed Chair Powell sent a strong message that the easing campaign would begin at the upcoming policy meeting.
The euro EUR=EBS firmed 0.2% to $1.1060, after hitting $1.1043, its lowest since Aug. 19.
On the political front in Europe, Alternative for Germany (AfD) was on track to become the first far-right party to win a regional election in Germany since World War Two, projections showed, giving it unprecedented power even if other parties are sure to exclude it from office.
"The only clear lessons are that the far-right AfD continues to resist the temptation of power until they get an outright majority," Christian Schulz, deputy chief European economist at Citi.
Some investors worried that a political stalemate in Berlin and Paris could prevent Europe from moving forward integration initiatives which could boost growth and make Europe able to play a bigger role in global affairs.
Money markets reduced their bets on rate cuts from the European Central Bank as August services inflation remained sticky and ECB policymakers provided no clues about additional monetary easing after a widely expected September rate cut.
They have priced in 59 bps worth of rate cuts by year-end EURESTECBM3X4=ICAP - implying two 25-bpsmoves and a 36% chance of a third cut - from 67 bps right after the release of German inflation data last week and from 70 bps in mid-August.
NON-FARM PAYROLLS
A U.S. public holiday on Monday madefor a slow start to the week for the dollar, analysts said, but the following days will see a steady flow of macroeconomic data that culminates with the non-farm payrolls on Friday.
Economists surveyed by Reuters expect the addition of 165,000 U.S. jobs in August, up from an increase of 114,000 in the previous month.
Analysts said data at around consensus forecasts were consistent with a soft landing and the Fed easing its policy by 25 bps this month.
"With figures at or below 100,000, we will see risks of a hard landing and the market pricing in a higher chance of a 50 bps rate cut," BofA's Vamvakidis said.
The dollar rose 0.40% to 146.74 yen JPY=EBS.
Analysts argued it would be hard to see the dollar rally against the yen at a time when the Fed is about to cut rates.
Treasury bonds won't trade on Monday due to the U.S. holiday, but the 10-year yield US10YT=RR stood at 3.9110% following a 4.4-bp rise on Friday.
Reporting by Stefano Rebaudo and Kevin Buckland; editing by Shri Navaratnam, Gareth Jones, Hugh Lawson and Andrew Heavens
免責聲明: XM Group提供線上交易平台的登入和執行服務，允許個人查看和/或使用網站所提供的內容，但不進行任何更改或擴展其服務和訪問權限，並受以下條款與條例約束：（i）條款與條例；（ii）風險提示；（iii）完全免責聲明。網站內部所提供的所有資訊，僅限於一般資訊用途。請注意，我們所有的線上交易平台內容並不構成，也不被視為進入金融市場交易的邀約或邀請 。金融市場交易會對您的投資帶來重大風險。
所有缐上交易平台所發佈的資料，僅適用於教育/資訊類用途，不包含也不應被視爲適用於金融、投資稅或交易相關諮詢和建議，或是交易價格紀錄，或是任何金融商品或非應邀途徑的金融相關優惠的交易邀約或邀請。
本網站的所有XM和第三方所提供的内容，包括意見、新聞、研究、分析、價格其他資訊和第三方網站鏈接，皆爲‘按原狀’，並作爲一般市場評論所提供，而非投資建議。請理解和接受，所有被歸類為投資研究範圍的相關内容，並非爲了促進投資研究獨立性，而根據法律要求所編寫，而是被視爲符合營銷傳播相關法律與法規所編寫的内容。請確保您已詳讀並完全理解我們的非獨立投資研究提示和風險提示資訊，相關詳情請點擊 這裡查看。
