share this article!

3 Minutes to Read (Reuters) – SINGAPORE (Reuters) – On Friday, the US dollar hit a 15-month high versus the yen and multi-month highs against other major currencies, as speculators bet that solid US labor statistics would push it much higher. PHOTO FROM THE FILE: In this illustration photo taken on June 1, 2017, a five dollar bill from the United States is seen. REUTERS/Thomas White/File Photo/Illustration At 1230 GMT, the jobs data is expected to show a strong increase of 700,000. However, there is speculation that the number may be higher, posing a threat to the assumption that US interest rates will remain at historic lows for years. The dollar has gained 0.7 percent versus the yen this week, reaching its highest level since March 2020 on Friday, as speculators re-evaluate short dollar bets in the wake of months of solid data and a hawkish shift in the Federal Reserve’s tone. Early in Asia, the dollar advanced 0.06 percent to 111.65 yen, while it was a whisker shy of Thursday’s three-month high of $1.1837 per euro at $1.1843 per euro. It climbed to a new two-and-a-half-month high of $1.3752 against the British pound, and was approaching its highest level against the Australian dollar since December at $0.7467, bringing it far above May’s lows. In an outlook call, Paul Mackel, global head of FX research at HSBC, stated, “Many people are now disputing (about) whether the dollar has actually bottomed, because the Fed is signaling that it could be hiking interest rates at some point in 2023.” “There’s also some concern about whether the dollar will begin to act in a more pro-cyclical fashion, meaning that if data in the United States is stronger than expected, the dollar would benefit.” In Asia, the US dollar index remained stable at 92.549, having gained 0.8 percent this week, and other market movements were minor as investors awaited US data. As shorts trim their holdings, the dollar index is already up 3.4 percent from its May lows, and some argue that this move makes it vulnerable if the jobs statistics fall short of expectations. “In 2021, the dollar has a tendency to respond asymmetrically to payrolls, with a miss generating greater dollar downside compared to the upside given by a stronger-than-expected release,” said Francesco Pesole of ING, which expects payrolls to grow by 500,000 to 600,000 jobs. “Should our economist’s estimates for a positive but below-consensus NFP read prove correct, we expect price action in FX to be generally negative for the dollar as some of the Fed’s hawkish expectations are dialed back,” Pesole said, referring to the nonfarm payrolls report in the United States. ======================================================== At 01:24 GMT, currency bid prices were as follows: RIC RIC RIC RIC RIC RIC YTD Pct Pct Pct Pct Pct Pct Pct Pct Pct Pct Pct Pct Highest Bidder Previous Change: Low Bid Session -0.05 percent -3.05 percent Euro/Dollar$1.1844 $1.1851 +1.1853 +1.1841Dollar/Yen111.5900 111.5550 +0.04 percent +8.05 percent +111.6550 +111.5950Euro/Yen132.17 132.15 +0.02 percent +4.14 percent +132.2200 +132.1000Dollar/Swiss111.5900 111.5550 +0.04 percent +8.05 percent +111.6550 +111.5950Dollar/Swiss +0.02 percent +4.65 percent +0.9261 +0.9258 0.9258 0.9257 +0.02 percent +4.65 percent +0.9261 +0.9258 Sterling/Dollar1.3759 1.3764 -0.03 percent +0.72 percent +1.3772 +1.3752Dollar/Canadian1.3759 1.3764 -0.03 percent +0.72 percent +1.3772 +1.3752Dollar/Canadian 1.2440 1.2437 +0.06% -2.28 percent +1.2444 +1.2438 +1.2444 +1.2438 +1.2444 +1.2438 +1.2444 +1.2438 +1. Aussie/Dollar0.7464 0.7471 -0.06% -2.94 percent +0.7470 +0.7461NZ$NZ$NZ$NZ$NZ$NZ$NZ$NZ$NZ$NZ$NZ$NZ$NZ$NZ Dollar/Dollar 0.6963 0.6969 -0.07% -3.02 percent +0.6969 +0.6960 -0.07% -3.02 percent Each and every location Locations in Tokyo Locations in Europe Volatilities BOJ provides information on the Tokyo foreign exchange market. Tom Westbrook contributed reporting, and Himani Sarkar edited the piece./nRead More

share this article!