Dollar Down, Takes Breather as U.S. Job Report Calms Interest Rate Hike Fears By Investing.com

By Gina Lee

Investing.com – The dollar was down on Monday morning in Asia, hitting pause on its recent gains, after the eased concerns about an earlier-than-expected hike in U.S. interest rates.

The that tracks the greenback against a basket of other currencies inched down 0.10% to 92.325 by 1:03 AM ET (5:03 AM GMT).

The pair inched up 0.09% to 111.15, with Japan’s for June at a higher-than-expected 48.

The pair edged down 0.11% to 0.7517. Data released earlier in the day in Australia said the at a slightly higher-than-forecast 56.8, while grew a better-than-expected 0.4% month-on-month in May.

The pair also edged down 0.11% to 0.7018.

The pair edged down 0.15% to 6.4626. Chinese data released earlier in the day said that the was at 50.3 in June, lower than the 55.1 figure reported for the previous month.

The pair was steady at1.3821.

The U.S. jobs report said that grew by a higher-than-expected 850,000 in June. However, the was also higher than expected at 5.9%, easing concerns that the U.S. Federal Reserve would raise interest rates sooner than expected.

“The report was mixed enough to probably keep the Fed from announcing tapering soon,” Westpac analyst Imre Speizer told Reuters.

“I think the market was thinking you’d get a signal at the Jackson Hole meeting in August. This report says that that just might be a bit early,” he added.

Investors now await the , to be released later in the week. The minutes will be closely scrutinized as it was at that the Fed hinted at interest rate hikes beginning in 2023 in a surprise hawkish shift in its monetary policy.

“The minutes will likely reinforce the FOMC’s hawkish shift,” Commonwealth Bank of Australia (OTC:) analyst Joe Capurso told Reuters.

“More information on when the FOMC could taper its asset purchases can boost U.S. interest rates and the dollar… so can further evidence that the FOMC’s outlook for inflation is shifting. In particular, analysts will look for signs that the FOMC is less confident the spike in inflation will be transitory and/or that the FOMC’s tolerance for an inflation overshoot is waning,” he added.

Investors also await a, to be handed down on Tuesday. Although not expected to move its cash rate, some investors expected the Australian central bank would not extend its three-year yield target beyond the April 2024 bond and adopt a flexible approach to bond purchases in the decision.