Yen surges as weak US jobs data drags down dollar
The dollar fell against major currencies including the yen and euro on Friday after data showed US employment unexpectedly declined in July, raising concerns about the economy and how the Federal Rese...
The US dollar experienced a significant decline against major currencies on Friday, following a surprise decrease in US employment data for July. The Labor Department reported that the economy lost 23,000 jobs in July, which was far below the anticipated 80,000 jobs increase. Additionally, the unemployment rate dropped to 4.1%, bringing the labor participation rate to a near 5-1/2-year low of 61.4%.
As a result, the dollar weakened against the Japanese yen, which dropped 0.52% to 157.62 yen. Thierry Wizman, a strategist at Macquarie Group, stated that the market has shifted expectations for a Federal Reserve rate hike to October or December, rather than September. This shift in expectations led to a decline in US Treasury yields, with the 2-year note yield falling 5.19 basis points to 4.193% and the 10-year note yield decreasing by 2.67 basis points to 4.643%.
The CME's FedWatch tool now estimates a 56% chance of a Fed rate hold in September, up from 45% the previous day. The euro gained 0.31% against the dollar, reaching $1.1559, while the dollar index decreased 0.46% to 99.49. Gold also benefited from the weakening dollar, rising 2.28% to $4,336.09 per ounce.
Written by urgent.news from Gulf Times Business's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
