TOKYO, May 10 — The dollar languished near a more than two-month low versus major peers today as investors continued to assess the implications for monetary policy of a disappointing US employment report, ahead of inflation data this week.
The US created only a little more than a quarter of the jobs that economists had forecast last month and the unemployment rate unexpectedly ticked higher, pouring cold water on speculation the pandemic recovery could spark faster inflation that the Federal Reserve anticipates.
The dollar index, which measures the greenback against six rivals, stood at 90.178, after dipping as low as 90.128 for the first time since February 26.
Notably, the British pound rallied 0.3 per cent, rising as high as US$1.4036 (RM5.76) for the first time since February 25, despite Scotland’s leader saying another referendum on independence was inevitable after her party’s resounding election victory.
“The USD’s choppy downtrend can continue this week,” Commonwealth Bank of Australia strategist Kim Mundy wrote in a client note, predicting a break above US$1.22 for the euro.
“The unexpected slow recovery in the US labour market reinforces the FOMC’s patient approach to monetary policy,” while “the improving global economic outlook is a medium-term weight on the USD.”
The euro rose 0.1 per cent to US$1.2172, earlier touching the highest since February 26 at US$1.2177.
The dollar was little changed at ¥108.57, not far from its lowest since April 27.
The Aussie dollar ticked 0.1 per cent higher to US$0.78535, close to Friday’s more-than-two-month high of 0.7863.
Canada’s loonie rallied to a fresh 3-1/2-year high of US$1.2111.
In cryptocurrencies, ether changed hands at US$3,918.78 after reaching a record US$3,985 yesterday.
The second-biggest digital token has rallied 41 per cent so far this month.
Bigger rival bitcoin remained stuck around US$58,000, consolidating after retreating as low as US$47,004.20 on April 25 following its surge to a record US$64,895.22 in the middle of that month.
Meanwhile, no. 4 virtual currency dogecoin languished around US$0.56 after losing more than a third of its price yesterday, when Elon Musk called the token a “hustle” during his guest-host spot on the Saturday Night Live comedy sketch TV show.
“Musk is probably happy to jump on the joke of what is a meme(coin), but investors are probably feeling real pain now,” said Justin d’Anethan, Hong Kong-based head of Exchange Sales at Diginex, a digital asset exchange.
“The supply is essentially unlimited (for dogecoin), and so unsustainable long-term. It’s a question of who will sell first and who will be left holding the bags.” — Reuters
