EUR/USD
The euro traded steady to lower against the dollar on Monday, as the greenback continued to see demand from Friday's better-than-expected jobs report, while soft Chinese trade figures spurred safe-haven demand for the U.S. currency. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday that the U.S. economy added 175,000 jobs in February, beating expectations for a 149,000 increase. January's figure was revised up to 129,000 from 113,000. Still, the euro saw some support on market views that the European Central Bank will hold off on stimulating the economy further. Last week, the ECB left its benchmark interest rate unchanged at 0.5%, as recent data indicated moderate economic recovery was taking place in the euro zone. Elsewhere in Europe, investor confidence in the euro zone for March rose to its highest level since April 2011, easing concerns over the outlook for the region’s economy, data showed on Monday. Market research group Sentix reported earlier that its index of investor confidence improved to 13.9 this month from a reading of 13.3 in February. Analysts were expecting the index to increase to 14.0 in March.
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GBP/USD
The pound remained lower against the U.S. dollar on Monday, as the release of downbeat Chinese trade data over the weekend continued to weigh on demand for risk- Market sentiment weakened after data released over the weekend showed that Chinese exports dropped 18.1% on a year-over-year basis in February, confounding expectations for a 6.8% increase, following a rise of 10.6% in January. A separate report showed that the annual rate of inflation in China slowed to 2.0% in February, from 2.5% in January. In the U.K., Bank of England Deputy Governor Charles Bean expressed concerns Monday that a further appreciation in sterling would damage hopes for an export boost to the economic recovery. “Any further appreciation of sterling, which has risen almost 10% in trade-weighted terms since March, would not be particularly helpful in terms of facilitating a rebalancing towards net exports”, he said.
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USD/JPY
The dollar rose against the yen on Monday as investors continued to applaud Friday's better-than-expected February jobs report in the U.S., while slumping Chinese trade figures sparked safe-haven demand for the greenback. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday that the U.S. economy added 175,000 jobs in February, beating expectations for a 149,000 increase. January's figure was revised up to 129,000 from 113,000. Weak Chinese trade data supported the greenback as well by bolstering its appeal as a safe-haven asset class. Meanwhile in Japan, data revealed the economy grew 0.2% in the final three months of 2013, missing market calls for a 0.3% reading. On a year-over-year basis, the economy expanded by 0.7%, missing expectations for a 1.0% reading.
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USD/CAD
The U.S. dollar rose to one-week highs against the Canadian dollar on Monday as Friday’s dismal jobs report continued to weigh on Canada’s dollar, while upbeat employment data continued to boost the greenback. The loonie, as the Canadian dollar is also known, remained under pressure after data on Friday showed that the country's economy unexpectedly eliminated jobs last month. Canada’s economy shed 7,000 jobs last month, official data showed, and confounding expectations for jobs growth of 15,000. The unemployment rate remained unchanged at 7.0%. The loonie found some support after data released on Monday showed that the annual rate of Canadian housing starts rose to 192,100 units last month from January’s total of 180,500 units. Analysts had expected Canadian housing starts to increase to 185,000 units in February. Demand for the greenback continued to be underpinned after the Labor Department reported Friday that the U.S. economy added 175,000 jobs in February, well above expectations for 149,000 new jobs.
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