Spike In Hiring And Consumer Sentiment Lift Dollar

(RTTNews) - The U.S. Dollar recorded modest gains during the week ended December 6 amidst positive surprises in payroll additions and consumer sentiment. The greenback gained against the euro, the Japanese yen, the Canadian Dollar, the Swedish Krona, as well as the Australian Dollar. It however declined against the British pound and the Swiss franc.

The Dollar Index, a measure of the Dollar's strength against a basket of currencies comprising the euro, the British pound, the Japanese yen, the Canadian Dollar, the Swedish Krona, and the Swiss franc, closed trading 0.30 percent higher at 106.06 on December 6 versus 105.74 a week earlier. The week's trading range was much wider, oscillating between the high of 106.73 recorded on Monday and the low of 105.42 recorded on Friday.

Data released early in the week showed a larger-than-expected manufacturing PMI, higher-than-expected job openings and a lower-than-expected level of services PMI, causing the Dollar Index to close at 105.71 on Thursday, a level below the previous Friday's level of 105.74. The Dollar's strength mainly came from jobs data released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and preliminary estimates of consumer sentiment published by the University of Michigan on the last day of the week.

Data released on Friday morning showed addition to non-farm payrolls jumping to 227 thousand in November from 36 thousand in the previous month. Markets had expected an addition of 200 thousand only. The unemployment rate edged up to 4.2 percent from 4.1 percent in the previous month in line with expectations. Average hourly earnings were steady despite expectation that it would edge down. The labor force participation rate which was seen rising to 62.7 percent from 62.6 percent in October unexpectedly declined to 62.5 percent.

The uptick in the unemployment rate, albeit on expected lines kept rate cut hopes alive, capping gains for the Dollar. The CME FedWatch tool showed the likelihood of a quarter point rate cut by the Fed in December at 86 percent on Friday versus 62 percent on Monday.

According to the University of Michigan, consumer sentiment for the U.S. increased for a fifth consecutive month to 74 in December from 71.8 in November. The highest level since April also came above forecasts of 73, the preliminary estimates showed.

The U.S. dollar added 0.07 percent against the euro during the week ended December 6 amidst political turmoil in France and Germany as well as strong rate cut expectations from the European Central Bank. From the level of 1.0575 on November 29, the EUR/USD pair slipped to 1.0568 by December 6. The weekly trading ranged between the low of 1.0460 recorded on Monday and the high of 1.0631 touched on Friday. The sterling edged up 0.04 percent against the greenback during the week ended December 6 amidst mixed jobs data from the U.S., decline in PMI readings in the U.K. and firm rate cut hints from the Bank of England. The GBP/USD pair rose to 1.2742 on December 6, from 1.2737 a week earlier. The sterling's weekly trading range was between $1.2616 recorded on Monday and $1.2813 recorded on Friday.

The Australian Dollar plunged 1.86 percent against the greenback during the week ended December 6 that saw updates to GDP from Australia. Data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed the Australian economy growing by 0.3 percent quarter-on-quarter in the third quarter of 2024 versus a 0.2 percent increase in the prior three quarters. The quarterly growth however fell short of market expectations of 0.4 percent and triggered rate cut expectations from the Reserve Bank of Australia. From the level of 0.6510 recorded on November 29, the AUD/USD pair dropped to a four-month low of 0.6389 in a week's time. The pair touched a high of 0.6527 on Monday and a low of 0.6372 on Friday.

The USD/ JPY pair rallied 0.19 percent during the week ended December 6 as it closed at 150.03 versus 149.75 a week earlier. The pair ranged between the low of 148.64 on Tuesday and the high of 151.24 on Wednesday as currency markets priced in the effects of the political turmoil in South Korea, the greenback's strength as well as the probability of a rate hike by the Bank of Japan.

Consumer price inflation data from the U.S. is due on Wednesday. Ahead of the release, the Dollar Index has now dropped to 106.02, from 106.06 on Friday. The ECB is widely expected to ease rates by 25 basis points when it meets next on Thursday. Amidst the anticipation, the EUR/USD pair is hovering near 1.0579 versus 1.0568 on Friday. The GBP/USD pair has increased to 1.2778 from 1.2742 on Friday. Ahead of Reserve Bank of Australia's interest rate decision later in the day, the AUD/USD pair has bounced back to 0.6461 from 0.6389 on Friday. Despite better-than-expected GDP updates from Japan over the weekend, the USD/JPY pair has rallied to 150.86, from 150.03 on Friday.