The dollar fell from its highest level in four weeks against its major counterparts, Friday, August 4, as investors await the jobs report, which may affect the course of US interest rate movements.
And the pound sterling recorded a slight increase after making up for the losses it suffered in the wake of the Bank of England’s decision to raise interest rates by a quarter of a percentage point yesterday, Thursday.
The yen hovered near the average of its trading range this week, at a time when investors are trying to gauge the Bank of Japan’s (central) acceptance of higher yields, following a sudden change in the bank’s policy last week.
Meanwhile, the risk-sensitive Australian dollar rose as Chinese stock markets and US stock futures rebounded.
The dollar index, which measures the performance of the US currency against six major currencies, fell 0.07% to 102.38 in early Asian trading. On Thursday, the index hit its highest level since July 7 at 102.84, but later lost steam with the monthly non-farm payroll report due out on Friday.
But the dollar rose to 142.64 yen, supported by the increase in long-term US Treasury yields to the highest level in nearly nine months at 4.198% last night.
The British pound rose 0.17% to $1.27305, after falling to $1.2620 on Thursday for the first time since June 30 after the Bank of England’s decision, despite its warning that interest rates are likely to remain high for a while.
The euro rose 0.06% to $1.09585.
The Australian dollar rose 0.5% to $0.65815, continuing its recovery after hitting a two-month low on Thursday.
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