US Dollar softens for fourth straight session as US payrolls miss

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The US Dollar Index (DXY) measured against a basket of six major currencies on an average fell for a fourth straight session in a row with most major and emerging market currencies reporting lofty gains against the American Dollar, as a much softer-than-expected US nonfarm payrolls data in August had eased the bets of a taper-talk in a near term, eventually leading to a mass-scale rally in global equities while shrugging off the US Dollar’s safe-haven bid.

Apart from that, the bloc’s single currency, euro, gained ground ahead of a meet of ECB (European Central Bank) policymakers scheduled to take place next week, while the safe-haven Japanese Yen rose against its American counterpart as PM Suga’s decision to step down had little or no impacts on Friday’s FX market.

Nevertheless, in the day’s decline in US Dollar Index was mostly catalysed by a dismal nonfarm payrolls data in August, as the US economy had created only 235,000 jobs last month, missing an analysts’ estimate of 728,000, nonetheless, some of initial losses had been pared late in the day as traders took a closer look into the US Labour Department data.

If truth is to be spoken, apart from an entire stall in hiring in leisure and entertainment sector, other sectors had performed relatively well given a rapid rise in delta cases with US unemployment rate falling to a 17-month low of 5.2 per cent.

US Dollar falls for a fourth straight session, posts 2nd successive weekly plunge

Citing statistics, in the day’s FX market wind-down, the US Dollar Index measured against a basket of six major currencies on an average fell 0.17 per cent to 92.02, the lowest level since August 3.

On the week, the US Dollar Index fell 0.63 per cent after tumbling as much as 0.81 per cent last week. The bloc’s common currency euro shared among 19 member states, added 0.08 per cent to $1.1883 against its American peer, while the British Pound rose 0.23 per cent to $1.3865.

Besides, the safe-haven Japanese Yen gained 0.21 per cent to 109.68 Yen per Dollar, while Swiss Franc rose 0.12 per cent to $0.9130 against its American counterpart with 74 per cent traders staying net long on the greenback, data from IG had unveiled, suggesting further downward spiral for the American currency in coming days.

Meanwhile, adding that a 92.00-level would likely to remain as a critical support level for the greenback, a managing director for futures and forex at TD Ameritrade in Chicago, JB Mackenzie said, “It adds more concern or focus on the October number, because now we want to see if there is a trend.

(The Fed) is trying to telegraph that if the economy continues to Heat up and they need to take action, they will, and that transparency is important to the markets and that is one of the main reasons you continue to see not a huge reaction to the downside here because the market feels as though they have been given that clear direction”.