Dollar Generally Higher In Wake Of Employment Data
Friday, February 02, 2007 10:46:55 AM - The U.S. dollar generally gained ground on Friday in the aftermath of January employment data. After the brief drop, the dollar showed strength against the euro and the yen, but held steady versus the pound.
Beginning with early morning trading in the U.S., the dollar began its rise against the yen. The greenback spiked lower with the release of the U.S. employment data at 8:30 am eastern time, but quickly bounced back. By mid-morning, the dollar had touched 121.24 before settling into a range. This continues a rebound began on Thursday, but the dollar remains off a high it set against the yen early in the week.
Against the euro, the American dollar saw very movement late Thursday and into Friday morning. The greenback briefly dipped with the release of the U.S. employment data, touching a multi-week low. However, the dollar quickly reversed course and rallied to a level of 1.2965 before leveling off. This took the currency to a 2-day high.
The greenback saw choppy trading against the British pound during the early morning in New York. With the release of the employment data, the dollar spiked lower. However, the currency almost immediately reversed its move, and settled around 1.9690 by mid-morning. The greenback continued to sit near a weekly low set on Thursday, holding off a multi-week high reached on Wednesday.
The January jobs report in the U.S. was weaker than expected. Non-farm payrolls rose 111,000. This was down from the revised 206,000 increase seen in December. Economists expected an increase of about 150,000 in January. The unemployment rate for the month rose to 4.6%, increasing from 4.5% in December.