The dollar moved in narrow ranges today, Friday, as investors await a key report on U.S. jobs and assess the possibility of the Federal Reserve (the U.S. central bank) raising interest rates for a longer period amid growth expectations. The report on non-farm payrolls in the U.S. is set to be released later today, with expectations that the U.S. economy added 225,000 jobs in June. This closely watched report follows data released yesterday, Thursday, which showed a spike in private sector jobs last month and a moderate increase in the number of Americans filing new unemployment claims last week, indicating that the labor market remains strong. This has led to an increase in U.S. Treasury yields as bets rise that the central bank should continue to raise interest rates to curb inflation, keeping the dollar elevated in early Asian trading today, Friday.
Against the U.S. dollar, the euro fell by 0.02% to $1.0890, while the New Zealand dollar rose by 0.09% to $0.6163, recovering some losses from the previous session. The British pound also weakened against the dollar, recording $1.2734 in the latest trades. This came despite its rise yesterday, Thursday, to a two-week high of $1.2780, as markets bet that the Bank of England will raise interest rates to 6.5% early next year, compared to previous expectations of a hike to 6.25%.
