* Graphic: World FX rates https://tmsnrt.rs/2RBWI5E
By David Henry
NEW YORK, Feb 3 (Reuters) - The dollar's rebound slowed on Wednesday with the euro and Japanese yen holding near widely watched levels as markets looked for clues to their next move, possibly from the U.S. jobs report on Friday.
The euro EUR=EBS hovered just above a two-month low of $1.20 as the yen JPY=D3 spent a second day trading near 105.
The broader dollar index =USD was up 0.07% at 91.145 in afternoon trading in New York after rising to a two-month high of 91.308 during the session.
The dollar is up 1.3% this year as investors see a widening disparity between the likely strength of the U.S. and European post-pandemic recoveries.
"The dollar bounce has slowed but may not be over," strategists at Brown Brothers Harriman wrote on Wednesday.
The battle seems be between perceived U.S. advantages on economic growth and vaccination and an appetite for currency diversification and investment risk, the strategists said.
The euro barely moved on news that former European Central Bank chief Mario Draghi had accepted a request to try to form a new Italian government, even as European bond and stock markets cheered. did currency markets move on U.S. reports that hiring by private employers rebounded more than expected in January, and that service sector activity was better than expected and reached its highest level in nearly two years. ADP (NASDAQ:ADP) National Employment Report showed private payrolls increased by 174,000 jobs in the month, when economists were expecting an additional 49,000.
Though the ADP report has a spotty record predicting the private payrolls count in the U.S. government's employment report because of methodology differences, it is still watched for clues on the labor market's health.
Economists expect the closely watched government report due on Friday to show that U.S. nonfarm payrolls increased by 50,000 jobs in January.
The dollar's advances have come despite a rally in equities and improving risk sentiment - a reversal of the traditional pattern.
However, many analysts expect that pattern to reassert itself as the year progresses, and see the dollar declining as global growth is supported by massive fiscal stimulus and ultra-easy monetary policies, which could kindle inflation.
The yen has been steady against the dollar after the greenback benefited from a long and massive bout of short-covering.
"It's been a nice run for the yen in terms of strength, but I think there's maybe some tiring of that move and some retracement," said Bart Wakabayashi, Tokyo branch manager of State Street (NYSE:STT) Bank and Trust. ========================================================
Currency bid prices at 3:01PM (2001 GMT) Description
RIC
Last
U.S. Close Pct Change
YTD Pct
High Bid
Low Bid
Previous
Change
Session
Dollar index
=USD
91.1450
91.0960
+0.07%
1.294%
+91.3080
+90.9880 Euro/Dollar
EUR=EBS
$1.2026
$1.2045
-0.15%
-1.57%
+$1.2050
+$1.2004 Dollar/Yen
JPY=D3
105.0400
105.0900
-0.02%
+1.72%
+105.1000 +105.0000 Euro/Yen
EURJPY=
126.31
126.40
-0.07%
-0.48%
+126.5200 +126.1500 Dollar/Swiss
0.8992
0.8975
+0.19%
+1.64%
+0.9002
+0.8971 Sterling/Dollar GBP=D3
$1.3642
$1.3670
-0.20%
-0.14%
+$1.3683
+$1.3620 Dollar/Canadian CAD=D3
1.2778
1.2781
-0.02%
+0.35%
+1.2811
+1.2764 Aussie/Dollar
AUD=D3
$0.7621
$0.7608
+0.18%
-0.92%
+$0.7626
+$0.7602 Euro/Swiss
EURCHF=
1.0813
1.0806
+0.06%
+0.06%
+1.0818
+1.0796 Euro/Sterling
EURGBP=
0.8812
0.8810
+0.02%
-1.40%
+0.8822
+0.8798 NZ
NZD=D3
$0.7200
$0.7192
+0.13%
+0.28%
+$0.7225
+$0.7185 Dollar/Dollar
Dollar/Norway
NOK=D3
8.5895
8.6050
-0.01%
+0.20%
+8.6330
+8.5850 Euro/Norway
EURNOK=
10.3280
10.3600
-0.31%
-1.31%
+10.3775
+10.3225 Dollar/Sweden
8.4137
8.3955
+0.14%
+2.65%
+8.4390
+8.3860 Euro/Sweden
EURSEK=
10.1187
10.1050
+0.14%
+0.42%
+10.1419
+10.1029
<^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ World FX rates
https://tmsnrt.rs/2RBWI5E
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