Dollar under pressure as U.S. payrolls data could spur more risk-taking
The dollar stayed under modest pressure on Friday ahead of a key U.S. jobs report that could cement expectations of a strong economic recovery and increase investor appetite for stocks, higher-yielding currencies and commodities.
The dollar’s index against six other major currencies stood near its lowest level this week, at 90.867, having lost about 0.4% overnight.
As the dollar is softer against most currencies, the euro outshone many others, having gained 0.5% on Thursday and last stood at $1.2067.
Against the yen, the dollar dipped to 109.05 yen, almost flat so far on the week as its rebound since late April has lost steam.
U.S. payrolls data, due at 1230 GMT, is expected to confirm the economy’s solid path to recovery from the pandemic, with economists expecting 978,000 new U.S. jobs for April, after bumper gains of 916,000 in March.
The unemployment rate is expected to fall to 5.8% from 6.0% in March.
Ahead of the closely watched report, data showed on Thursday the number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits fell below 500,000 last week for the first time since the Covid-19 pandemic started more than a year ago.
Signs of strong job recovery are something of a double-edged sword for markets.
Although the polls already closed at 2100 GMT, votes will not be counted until Friday morning due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Just over a third of the results will be announced on Friday and the remainder will be announced on Saturday.
Elsewhere, ether hit a fresh record high of $3,610.04 and last traded at $3,442.36.
Bitcoin fetched $55,875, trapped in a range between $53,000 and $59,000 over the past week.
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