Dollar near two-week low as investors turn to US jobs data

TOKYO, Aug.31 (Reuters) – The dollar approached two-week lows against a basket of currencies on Tuesday as trade was boosted by month-end flows as investors anticipated employment figures in the United States later in the week.

The US currency stabilized after Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell on Friday offered no signal on when the central bank is considering cutting its asset purchases beyond saying it could be “This year”. Read more

“Payroll data will be the next highlight given the focus on the Fed’s slowdown. A solid reading will reinforce expectations that the Fed will give markets notice in September before a formal decision in November,” he said. said Yukio Ishizuki, senior strategist at Daiwa Securities.

Weaker jobs figures might instead justify further action – an advance announcement in November with a formal decision in December.

Tuesday’s trade, however, is expected to be driven more by month-end flows from various companies for their import and export transactions.

At the start of trading, the euro held steady at $ 1.1799, near Monday’s three-week high of $ 1.1810.

Eurozone consumer price data due at 0900 GMT should show inflation in the money block accelerated in August.

The British pound hit $ 1.3762 while the yen was little changed at 109.98 yen to the dollar.

The dollar index stood at 92.698, near Monday’s two-week low of 92.595.

In Asia, China’s official PMI expected around 02:00 GMT is being closely watched for clues about the extent of the impact caused by the Delta variant outbreak in the country.

The offshore Chinese yuan stood at 6.4648 to the dollar, not far from a three-week high of 6.4595 reached on Friday.

The Australian dollar, often seen as a proxy bet on the Chinese economy, rose to $ 0.7292, after peaking at $ 0.7317 on Friday.

The Canadian dollar hit C $ 1.2610, after hitting a two-week high on Monday, in part due to the Canadian current account surplus which widened more than expected due to high oil prices.

Oil prices firmed to three-week highs as platforms, refineries and pipelines on the U.S. Gulf Coast struggled with uncertainty over restart timelines after the Hurricane Ida wreaked havoc in the region.

Emerging market currencies also remained firm, with the MSCI Emerging Market Currency Index hitting a three-week high of 1,733.33 (.MIEM00000CUS) on Monday. It stood for the last time at 1732.54.

In cryptocurrencies, bitcoin fell to $ 47,626 while ether held slightly firmer at $ 3,277.

Reporting by Hideyuki Sano Editing by Shri Navaratnam

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