Sharjah24 – Reuters: The dollar took a breather on Monday, after recent gains ran into a speed bump when details of last week's U.S. jobs report soothed jitters about the timing of U.S. interest rate hikes.
While the headline June job creation figure beat forecasts, unemployment ticked higher, workforce participation didn't budge and the pace of hourly earnings growth slowed - suggesting rate rises could be further away than markets have come to fear.
Against the risk-sensitive Australian and New Zealand dollars the greenback slipped 0.7% and 0.9%, respectively in the wake of the data on Friday, and then steadied on Monday.
The dollar clawed back slightly against the yen, rising 0.14% to 111.15 yen early in the Asia session, after dropping just below 111 yen following the jobs report. The euro was steady at $1.1859, off Friday's three-month low of $1.1807.
Sterling was steady at $1.3820.
The U.S. dollar index was flat at 92.334, having fallen about 0.3% to that level on Friday.
It is up about 2% in three weeks since the Fed drove a jump in the greenback in June - and positioning shakeout across bonds and currencies - with a surprisingly hawkish projection for rate hikes beginning in 2023.
Minutes from that June meeting are due to be published on Wednesday and might have more details on policymakers' thinking.
Also on the horizon this week is a Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) meeting on Tuesday, which has markets on tenterhooks because the central bank has flagged a decision on the fate of its bond purchase programme and yield target.
The RBA isn't expected to move its cash rate, but economists polled by Reuters expect it not to extend its three-year yield target beyond the April 2024 bond and to adopt a flexible approach to bond purchases.
Cryptocurrencies were steady on Monday, with bitcoin at $34,903 and ether holding on to recent momentum to trade at $2,318.
U.S. markets are closed on Monday for the Independence Day holiday.
For an optimal experience, please
