new york • The dollar traded mainly higher on Friday as better-than-expected US data helped shift expectations on healthy growth going forward in the world’s biggest economy.
The euro slipped to $1.3442 at 2100 GMT from $1.3454 in New York late on Thursday, after earlier in the day slipping below the $1.34 mark for the first time for almost two months.
The dollar rose to 122.09 yen—hitting its highest level since late January — from 121.71 yen on Thursday.
The US currency picked up momentum after data showed the US economy added a net 157,000 jobs in May, better than expected. Analysts said the report suggests the economy is coming out of its first-quarter soft patch but that inflation remains only moderate.
The payrolls are a key event for the market, which is anxious for fresh clues on the outlook for US interest rates.
The Federal Reserve has been on hold for nearly a year with base US rates at 5.25 per cent. In recent months, market participants have shifted away from a perception that the Fed will need to cut rates to stimulate flagging growth.
Stephen Gallagher, economist at Societe Generale, said he has now thrown in the towel on his forecast for a Fed rate cut this year, and now sees the next move by the US central bank as a rate hike.
“More and more we are convinced the mid-cycle slowdown has ended and the economy is currently firming to trend,” Gallagher said.
“Against a backdrop of stubborn inflation and tight labor markets, our analysis going forward will be more focused on the timing of rate hikes, not cuts.”
Meanwhile, the closely watched US ISM survey on manufacturing activity came in above forecasts, rising to 55.0 in May from 54.7 in April to reach its highest level for 12 months.
Analysts said the good news on the US economy was enough to offset evidence of moderating inflation, with the annual core PCE indicator — the Federal Reserve’s preferred measure of inflation—dropping to a 13-month low of 2.0 per cent, according to a Commerce Department report.
The report also showed US consumer income down 0.1 per cent in April, while spending rose 0.5 per cent.
