Share

Dollar weak in Asia after tepid jobs data

Tokyo -The dollar was under pressure in Asia on Monday after lacklustre US jobs data and exporter selling weighed on the unit.

The greenback fetched ¥98.76 in Tokyo afternoon trade, down from ¥98.89 in New York Friday afternoon and sharply lower from around ¥99.50 in Tokyo on Friday.

The euro bought $1.3274 and ¥131.11 Monday against $1.3279 and ¥131.35 in US trade.

The dollar skidded Friday after the US Labor Department released monthly employment data, which investors watched closely to gather clues about the future direction of the Federal Reserve's monetary-easing programme.

The Fed has said it planned to wind down the stimulus once the economy had cemented a recovery.

The data showed the unemployment rate fell to a four-year low of 7.4% in July from 7.6% in June, but the world's largest economy added only 162 000 jobs during the month, far short of expectations.

Some traders attributed the dollar's decline Monday to the unit failing to creep back over the ¥100 mark, prompting speculators to reduce their bets on a weakening of the yen. Selling demand from Japanese exporters also held back the dollar's advance, they said.

"It looks tough to breach that (¥100) level as exporters are likely to ramp up their sales before their summer holidays (next week)," Osamu Takashima, chief FX strategist at Citigroup Global Markets Japan, said in a note.

The dollar was mostly weaker against other Asia-Pacific currencies.

It slipped to Sg$1.2700 from Sg$1.2761 on Friday, to 43.50 Philippine pesos from 43.61 pesos, to Tw$29.95 from Tw$29.99 and to 1 115.07 from South Korean won from 1 125.65 won.

The greenback also declined to 10 276 Indonesian rupiah from 10 280 rupiah and to 31.34 Thai baht from 31.40 baht. It strengthened to 60.91 Indian rupees from 60.76 rupees.

The Australian dollar eased to 88.76 US cents from 89.07 cents while the Chinese yuan changed hands at ¥16.12 against ¥16.23.


We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred
Who we choose to trust can have a profound impact on our lives. Join thousands of devoted South Africans who look to News24 to bring them news they can trust every day. As we celebrate 25 years, become a News24 subscriber as we strive to keep you informed, inspired and empowered.
Join News24 today
heading
description
username
Show Comments ()
Rand - Dollar
18.96
-0.1%
Rand - Pound
23.92
-0.1%
Rand - Euro
20.43
+0.0%
Rand - Aus dollar
12.35
-0.0%
Rand - Yen
0.13
-0.1%
Platinum
908.05
+1.2%
Palladium
1,014.94
+1.3%
Gold
2,232.75
-0.0%
Silver
24.95
-0.1%
Brent Crude
87.00
+1.8%
Top 40
68,346
0.0%
All Share
74,536
0.0%
Resource 10
57,251
0.0%
Industrial 25
103,936
0.0%
Financial 15
16,502
0.0%
All JSE data delayed by at least 15 minutes Iress logo
Company Snapshot
Editorial feedback and complaints

Contact the public editor with feedback for our journalists, complaints, queries or suggestions about articles on News24.

LEARN MORE
Government tenders

Find public sector tender opportunities in South Africa here.

Government tenders
This portal provides access to information on all tenders made by all public sector organisations in all spheres of government.
Browse tenders