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05/07/24
176
USD Inches Lower After Jobs Data
On Friday, the U.S. dollar dropped slightly after data showed U.S. job growth eased slightly in June while the unemployment rate was higher, underlining the belief the Federal Reserve may start cutting interest rates in Sept.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures its strength against 6 other major currencies, initially extended losses and the dollar was lower against the yen before trimming declines.
The index was last trading at about 105.07, down 0.09%, while the euro was 0.06% higher at $1.0817.
The dollar was 0.04% lower at 161.29 against the Japanese yen. It was close to 160.45 just after the payrolls data.
According to Friday’s Labor Department data, last month’s nonfarm payrolls were at 206K, down from May’s 218K. The reading for May was also revised heavily lower from the initial level of 272K, while April’s was decreased by 57K to 108K.
Economists had expected the June number to be at 191K.
The largest job increases were in the health services and education sectors, which helped offset losses in logging, mining, and retail trade.
The unemployment rate edged up to 4.1%, the highest level since Nov. 2021 and higher than expectations that it would be the same at the May number of 4.0%. Average hourly wage growth month-on-month slowed from 0.4% to 0.3%.
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