Asian currencies weaken slightly

Story link: Asian currencies weaken slightly

The US dollar strengthened on Wednesday after new figures were released, saying that 368,000 new jobs were created in June. It had been estimated that the month would see 155,000 new jobs created in the month. Analysts said that if the ADP National Employment Report numbers are accurate, the wage inflation that could result will likely spur the Federal Reserve to continue raising interest rates. In addition, a separate report showed that US factory orders were higher than had been anticipated. Some analysts warned, however, that the ADP report figures might not match Bureau of Labor Statistics numbers when they are announced on Friday.

The greenback added 0.4 percent to C$1.1123 in relation to the Canadian dollar, while it was up 0.5 percent versus both sterling and the euro, to $1.8345 and $1,272 respectively. The US currency gained 0.7 percent to ¥115.66 against the Japanese yen.

Asian currencies dropped in the wake of the North Korean missile tests on Tuesday, but the declines weren’t huge. The yen dropped 0.2 percent to ¥147.15 versus the euro after going to a low of ¥147.31 during the day. The South Korean won, meanwhile, was down 0.4 percent against the US dollar to Won946.31.

A further indication that the missile tests will not have a large or permanent impact on currency markets is the fact that the Swiss franc, traditionally considered a safe haven in times of upheaval, dropped 0.2 percent to SFr1.5691 against the euro and was down 0.7 percent to SFr1.2331 versus the greenback.