EUR/USD
The euro edged lower against the dollar and the yen on Monday as investors turned their attention to the upcoming European Central Bank meeting on Thursday amid ongoing concerns over the threat of deflationary pressures in the euro area. The euro moved higher against the dollar on Friday after weaker than expected U.S. employment data prompted investors to curtail expectations on the timing of a possible rate hike by the Federal Reserve. The U.S. economy added 209,000 jobs in July, below forecasts for jobs growth of 233,000 the Labor Department said. Although it was the sixth successive month that the U.S. economy added more than 200,000 jobs, the unemployment rate unexpectedly ticked up to 6.2% from 6.1% in June. In addition, wage growth was flat, pointing to underlying slack in the economy. The single currency turned lower on Monday as investors looked ahead to the conclusion of the ECB’s monthly monetary policy review later in the week.
GBP/USD
The pound edged up against the U.S. dollar on Monday, but still remained within close distance of a one-and-a-half month low as demand for sterling remained under pressure after data showed that activity in the U.K. construction sector slowed in July. The U.K. construction purchasing managers’ index slowed to 62.4 from 62.6 in June, but was still slightly ahead of expectations for a reading of 62.0. The overall pace of growth was the fastest since 2007, with housing activity still by far the best performing construction category. Last month’s increase in output was the sharpest for over a decade. Sharp increases in overall construction activity also led to a new survey-record pace of job creation in the sector last month. Meanwhile, demand for the dollar remained supported despite data on Friday showing that U.S. jobs growth slowed in July.
USD/JPY
The dollar edged higher against the yen, with USD/JPY inching up 0.05% to 102.65, off the almost four month highs of 103.07 set last Wednesday. The US Dollar Index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was flat at 81.40, after reaching 10-month highs of 81.66 on Thursday. below forecasts for jobs growth of 233,000. The previous month’s figure was revised up to a gain of 298,000 from a previously reported increase of 288,000. Although it was the sixth successive month that the U.S. economy added more than 200,000 jobs, the unemployment rate unexpectedly ticked up to 6.2% from 6.1% in June. In addition, wage growth was flat, pointing to underlying slack in the economy.
USD/CAD
The U.S. dollar was steady against its Canadian counterpart on Monday, hovering near eight-week highs as the greenback began to recover from the downward trend caused by weak U.S. jobs data on Friday, while markets in Canada were to remain closed for a national holiday. The greenback came under pressure on Friday after official data showed that that the U.S. economy added 209,000 jobs in July, below forecasts for jobs growth of 233,000. Although it was the sixth successive month that the U.S. economy added more than 200,000 jobs, the unemployment rate unexpectedly ticked up to 6.2% from 6.1% in June. In addition, wage growth was flat, pointing to underlying slack in the economy. The data prompted investors to curtail expectations on the timing of a possible rate hike by the Federal Reserve.
