Employment data weakens US dollar

Story link: Employment data weakens US dollar

Substantially lower than expected employment data in the United States on Friday resulted in a weakened dollar as it became less likely that the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates again in June. While unemployment declined to 4.6 percent in May, only 75,000 jobs were created during the month.

The greenback dropped 0.8 percent to $1.2922 versus the euro, which brought the US currency’s decline against the shared currency to 1.6 percent for the week. The dollar was also down 0.8 percent in relation to the Japanese yen, to ¥111.47, a drop on the week of 1 percent. The greenback declined 0.9 percent for the day and 1.6 percent on the week against sterling, to $1.8844.

The euro, meanwhile, achieved four-week highs in relation to both sterling and the Swiss franc, trading at £0.6882 versus sterling and at SFr1.5654 versus the Swissie, as a few analysts have come to believe that the European Central Bank might raise Eurozone interest rates by as much as 50 basis points at their next meeting. Most analysts, however, still expect only a 25 basis point hike.

Elsewhere, the Norwegian krone added 0.6 percent in relation to the euro during the week, to NKr7.7809, after interest rates in Norway were raised to 2.75 percent on Wednesday. The Swedish krona, meanwhile, gained 0.8 percent on the shared currency, to SKr9.2213.