(Updates prices, adds cryptocurrency gains)
* Euro up 0.7%
* Dollar index down 0.5%
* Jobs report interrupts dollar run
* Year-to-date dollar index up 1.2%
By David Henry
NEW YORK, Feb 5 (Reuters) - The dollar lost out to the euro after Friday's U.S. jobs report suggested that some traders may have over-played a stronger American recovery from the coronavirus pandemic.
The euro EUR=EBS rose 0.7% to $1.2042 in its biggest daily gain in more than two months after the report, which Marc Chandler, strategist at Bannockburn Global Forex, said did more to force short-term traders to adjust long-dollar and short-euro positions than it changed the economic outlook for a U.S. recovery that is stronger than peers.
The dollar index =USD of a basket of currencies was down 0.5% at 91.028, but still holding a weekly gain of 0.6%.
"This forces some of the late dollar-longs out," Chandler said. "It doesn't really change what to expect for Q1 GDP in the U.S. Market positioning is a different story."
The report showed U.S. employment growth rebounded less than expected in January and job losses the prior month were deeper than initially thought, strengthening the argument for additional relief money to aid the recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. greenback was off 0.1% against the yen JPY=D3 at 105.42.
The more modest change against the yen, Chandler said, was consistent with yields on longer-term U.S. Treasuries edging up in reaction to the report and the support it gives for additional government spending to stimulate the economy. spread between yields on two-year and 10-year Treasuries, seen as an indicator of economic expectations, widened to as much as 106 basis points and the most since May 2017.
U.S. President Joe Biden cited the report as he and his Democratic allies pushed ahead with steps toward their $1.9 billion COVID-19 relief package, including a vote in the Senate and another expected in the House. The moves aim to secure the spending before special unemployment benefits expire on March 15. for more stimulus also drove global stocks to a new record on Friday, as measured by MSCI's all-country world index .MIWD00000PUS . too, rose toward $60 a barrel and hit their highest prices in a year on the outlook for an economic revival and supply curbs by producers. stimulus fuels expectations of higher inflation and adds to the market's interest in new consumer price data coming next week, analysts at ING wrote late on Friday. The impact on the dollar could come through what the price data say about interest rates after subtracting inflation, they said.
Analysts and investors have been weighing whether dollar strength this year has been a temporary reaction to a 7% loss in 2020 or is a longer-lasting shift away from dollar pessimism.
The dollar index is still up 1.2% this year. Its rise has been supported by higher longer-term U.S. Treasury yields, which prompted traders to position for massive fiscal spending.
Cryptocurrencies bitcoin and ether BTC=BTSP ETH=BTSP appeared to benefit from the dollar's fall on Friday, rising 2% and 7%, respectively.
Futures on ether, also known as ethereum, will begin trading on Sunday evening on the CME derivatives exchange where bitcoin futures have traded since 2017. bid prices at 3:06PM (2006 GMT) Description
RIC
Last
U.S. Close Pct Change
YTD Pct
High Bid
Low Bid
Previous
Change
Session
Dollar index
=USD
91.0280
91.5270
-0.53%
1.164%
+91.6000
+91.0040 Euro/Dollar
EUR=EBS
$1.2042
$1.1961
+0.69%
-1.43%
+$1.2048
+$1.1952 Dollar/Yen
JPY=D3
105.4150
105.5400
-0.15%
+2.02%
+105.7600 +105.3350 Euro/Yen
EURJPY=
126.94
126.25
+0.55%
+0.02%
+126.9800 +126.1700 Dollar/Swiss
0.8995
0.9044
-0.54%
+1.67%
+0.9045
+0.8993 Sterling/Dollar GBP=D3
$1.3728
$1.3673
+0.41%
+0.49%
+$1.3739
+$1.3666 Dollar/Canadian CAD=D3
1.2769
1.2824
-0.43%
+0.27%
+1.2832
+1.2765 Aussie/Dollar
AUD=D3
$0.7668
$0.7601
+0.88%
-0.32%
+$0.7670
+$0.7583 Euro/Swiss
EURCHF=
1.0832
1.0816
+0.15%
+0.23%
+1.0835
+1.0808 Euro/Sterling
EURGBP=
0.8771
0.8749
+0.25%
-1.86%
+0.8777
+0.8739 NZ
NZD=D3
$0.7199
$0.7157
+0.57%
+0.24%
+$0.7204
+$0.7136 Dollar/Dollar
Dollar/Norway
NOK=D3
8.5300
8.6420
-1.17%
-0.54%
+8.6445
+8.5405 Euro/Norway
EURNOK=
10.2744
10.3350
-0.59%
-1.84%
+10.3435
+10.2620 Dollar/Sweden
8.3744
8.4627
-0.32%
+2.17%
+8.4816
+8.3714 Euro/Sweden
EURSEK=
10.0850
10.1170
-0.32%
+0.09%
+10.1410
+10.0836
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https://tmsnrt.rs/2RBWI5E Dollar on course for best week in 3 months
https://tmsnrt.rs/3axHSYM
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