The dollar dipped on Thursday, hitting its lowest point in three days, as global market risk appetite improved and traders looked forward to the April jobs report due on Friday for direction.
The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits fell below 500,000 last week for the first since the COVID-19 pandemic started more than a year ago, data showed, signalling the labor market recovery entered a new phase amid a booming economy.
While the U.S. economy has been gaining steam on the back of massive government stimulus and an improving health situation, Federal Reserve speakers on Wednesday downplayed the risks of higher inflation.
· The U.S. dollar, which is regarded as a safe haven asset, declined against a basket of peer currencies and was last down 0.34% at 90.948.
· Investors were looking forward to the closely watched non-farm payrolls report on Friday, with estimates of between 700,000 and more than 2 million jobs having been created in April.
If the number is north of 1.5 million, it could lead to a spike in Treasury yields that would provide some temporary support for the dollar, Moya said.
· 10-year Treasury yield remains lower after better-than-expected jobless claims data
The 10-year U.S. Treasury yield fell slightly on Thursday amid the release of weekly jobless claims data.
The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note dipped one basis point to 1.58%. The yield on the 30-year Treasury bond was flat at 2.26%. Yields move inversely to prices.
· Barclays says it is bullish on sterling, sees uptick in growth in the UK
James Hassett of Barclays says the bank expects a good uptick in growth and economic activity in the U.K. in the second and third quarter of the year. He also discusses what to expect from Turkey’s central bank meeting.
· The pound was last down 0.15% against the weaker dollar at $1.3890.
· The euro was up 0.44% versus the dollar at $1.2058 , and up 0.54% against the pound, at 0.8678 pence per euro.
· Investors were also paying attention to elections in Scotland that could herald a political showdown over a new independence referendum.
· In cryptocurrencies, ether, the world’s second largest crypto currency after Bitcoin, hit a record high of $3,610.04.
Bitcoin declined 1.03% to $56,919.50.