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​Dollar edges up, recovering from jobs miss

The dollar edged up as European markets opened on Monday, recovering from Friday’s drop on U.S. jobs data which was below expectations.

The jobs data was seen as a relief for markets because it showed a pick-up in job growth was not strong enough to raise expectations for the U.S. Federal Reserve to tighten its monetary policy any sooner, hurting the dollar.

There was little risk appetite in currency markets in early trading, as equities dipped amid caution in global markets ahead of U.S. inflation data and the European Central Bank meeting, both on Thursday.

At 0715 GMT, the dollar index was up 0.2% on the day at 90.283. The euro was down 0.2% against the dollar, at $1.21465.

The Australian dollar, which is seen as a proxy for risk appetite, was 0.2% lower at 0.7727.

Dovish rhetoric from ECB policymakers suggests the bank is in no hurry to slow the pace of buying under the 1.85 trillion euro ($2.24 trillion) Pandemic Emergency Purchase Programme (PEPP).

Meanwhile U.S. Federal Reserve policymakers have begun inching toward a discussion about winding that help back.

Speculators decreased their net short dollar positions in the latest week, according to calculations by Reuters and U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission data released on Friday.

China’s yuan hovered around the key 6.40 level, with the offshore yuan changing hands at 6.3961 at 0732 GMT.

China’s export growth missed forecasts, while imports grew at their fastest pace in 10 years in May, fuelled by the surging demand for raw materials, data on Monday showed.

 

Sterling edges down amid doubts over June 21 reopening

Sterling fell slightly against the dollar on Monday, as the government failed to reassure the public it will stick to its plan to fully lift COVID-19 lockdown restrictions in England on June 21.

By 0750 GMT the pound was down 0.2% against the dollar at $1.4136, and down a similar amount against the euro at 86.06 pence. .

 

In cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin was up 1% around $36,166, while ether was up 2% at $2,766. Both were trading within the month’s relatively narrow ranges.