Dollar steadies after U.S. jobs-related losses
The dollar was flat to slightly lower on Monday in choppy trading, holding its ground against a basket of major currencies after falling sharply on worse-than-expected U.S. jobs data last week, as investors continued to price in faster U.S. recovery than most countries.
The dollar index was at 90.982,, flat on the day. On Friday, it fell as low as 90.981 after data showed the U.S. economy created fewer jobs than expected in January and job losses in December were greater than initially reported.
The euro was modestly up at $1.2057 against the dollar.
In a note to clients, J.P. Morgan strategists said they “have growing confidence of underperformance of EUR vs USD”.
Investor morale in the euro zone unexpectedly fell in February as lockdowns to suppress the COVID-19 caseload left their mark on the economy, which lost touch with other regions in the world as they recovered further, a survey by Sentix showed.
Sentix’s investor sentiment index for the euro zone fell back into negative territory, dropping to -0.2 from 1.3 in January. A Reuters poll had pointed to a reading of 1.9.
The British pound bought $1.3686, 0.3% lower to the dollar.
The dollar was quoted at 105.62 yen, having pulled back from a three-month high reached on Friday.
In the cryptocurrency market, bitcoin hit another record high of $44,899 after Tesla Inc said on Monday it had invested around $1.5 billion in the virtual currency and expects to begin accepting payment for its cars and other products with it in the near future.
Bitcoin was last up 12.7% at 43,736.
Ethereum hit a fresh record high of $1,764.55 after the listing of ethereum futures on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange late Sunday. It was last up 6% at $1,712.52.
Treasury yields dip after 30-year yield briefly tops 2% for the first time in about a year
Treasury yields were slightly on Monday morning as traders digested comments from Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and the prospect of new fiscal stimulus.
Earlier, the 30-year yield hit a high of 2.006%, its highest level since February 2020.
At around 4:00 p.m. ET, the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note, which moves inversely to price, was lower at around 1.17%, while the yield on the 30-year Treasury bond was lower at 1.96%.
Reference: CNBC
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