NVDA Q3 Earnings Alert: Why our AI stock picker is still holding Nvidia stockRead More

FOREX-Dollar languishes as weak U.S. jobs data sparks safety flight

Published 03/10/2019, 10:46 am
Updated 04/10/2019, 02:32 pm
© Reuters.  FOREX-Dollar languishes as weak U.S. jobs data sparks safety flight
USD/JPY
-
USD/CHF
-
NZD/USD
-
XAU/USD
-
GC
-
DXY
-
USD/CNH
-

* Dollar sat near one-week lows on yen and euro

* Swiss franc, yen, gold rise as investors flock to safety

* Pound rangebound as EU mulls Brexit offer

By Tom Westbrook

SINGAPORE, Oct 3 (Reuters) - The dollar nursed losses on Thursday, hitting near one-week lows against the euro and yen, amid signs of a slowdown in U.S. economic growth and a deepening of global trade tensions.

The greenback fell overnight after data showed hiring by U.S. private employers had slowed in September, the latest indicator that the Sino-U.S. trade dispute is hurting the world's largest economy. weaker-than-expected numbers follow a separate release on Tuesday that showed a sharp decline in factory activity that sent stock markets and bond yields tumbling.

"The trend certainly in U.S. data had been consistently beating expectations, so the sudden reversal of fortunes has created a rapid re-assessment," said Chris Weston, head of research at brokerage Pepperstone Group in Melbourne. "There is not a lot of good news to inspire the bulls."

In Asian hours, investors headed for safety. Stocks fell. Gold XAU= and the Swiss franc CHF= inched higher.

The dollar weakened slightly to 107.13 Japanese yen JPY= and $1.0962 per euro EBS= , both only a fraction above a one-week lows touched overnight.

It held close to a one-week low against the New Zealand dollar NZD=D3 at $0.6264 per kiwi and weakened a little against the beaten-up Australian dollar AUD=D3 to $0.6714.

The weakness in the U.S. follows a slew of poor economic data from Europe and signs of a hastening slowdown in China.

Adding to concerns, the United States won approval on Wednesday to levy tariffs on $7.5 billion worth of European goods over illegal subsidies handed to Airbus, threatening to trigger a transatlantic trade war.

The next readings on global economic health will be European August retail sales and a German service sector survey due on Thursday, and September's U.S. non-manufacturing ISM survey due at 1400 GMT.

Against a basket of currencies .DXY the dollar was flat at 99.022.

The pound GBP=D3 was steady at $1.2302 after fluctuating in a tight range as British Prime Minister Boris Johnson proposed an all-island regulatory zone in Ireland in his final pitch for a Brexit deal before the end of the month. outlook, however, remained uncertain after a cool response to the proposal from Brussels, leaving a no-deal exit from the European Union on Oct. 31 a real possibility.

"The question appears to be whether there is enough middle ground for the two sides to come to some sort of agreement by the time of the EU Summit on Oct. 17," said Rodrigo Catril, senior FX strategist at National Australia Bank in Sydney.

In offshore trade, the Chinese yuan CNH= was steady at 7.1452 per dollar, with trade subdued as Chinese markets are closed until Monday for public holidays.

Latest comments

Risk Disclosure: Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.
© 2007-2024 - Fusion Media Limited. All Rights Reserved.