Monday, October06, 2014 Highlights: The U.S. dollar remained close to fresh four-year highs against a basket of other major currencies on Friday, as the release of strong U.S. employment report boosted demand for the greenback. 1. The Institute of Supply Management said its non-manufacturing purchasing managers index slipped to 58.6 in September from a reading of 59.6 in August. Analysts had expected the index to fall to 58.5 last month. 2. Earlier Friday, the Department of Labor said the U.S. economy added 248,000 jobs in September, more than the expected 215,000 increase. The number of jobs created in August was revised to 180,000 from a previous estimate of 142,000. 3. In addition, the U.S. unemployment rate ticked down to 5.9% last month, from 6.1% in August. Analysts had expected the rate to remain unchanged. 4. A separate report showed that the U.S. trade deficit narrowed to $40.10 billion in August from $40.30 billion in July, whose figure was revised from a previously estimated deficit of $40.60 billion. 5. Analysts had expected the trade deficit to widen to $40.90 billion in August. 6. EUR/USD hit fresh two-year lows of 1.2505, and was last down 1.30% to trade at 1.2504. 7. The euro showed little reaction after official data showed that euro zone retail sales rose 1.2% in August, beating expectations for an uptick of 0.1%, after 0.4% fall in July. 8. Earlier Friday, Markit said the euro zone services purchasing managers index ticked down to 52.4 in September from 52.8 the previous month, confounding expectations for the index to remain unchanged. 9. Markit also reported that Germanys services PMI rose to 55.7 last month from a reading of 55.4 in August, while Frances services PMI fell to 48.4 in September from 49.4 in August. 10. GBP/USD dropped 1.16% to 11-month lows at 1.5956, after Markit said the U.K. services PMI slipped to 58.7 in September from a reading of 60.5 the previous month. Analysts had expected the index to tick down to 59.1 last month. 11. USD/JPY jumped 1.30% to 109.86, re-approaching six-year peaks, while USD/CHF rallied 1.42% to fresh 14-month highs at 0.9675. 12. Elsewhere, AUD/USD hit four-year lows and was last down 1.72% at 0.8652. NZD/USD plunged 1.87% to trade at 0.7752, while USD/CAD gained 0.91% to new six-month highs at 1.1259. 13. Official data showed that Canadas trade balance swung into a deficit of C$0.61 billion in August from a surplus of C$2.20 billion in July, whose figure was revised from a previously estimated surplus of C$2.58 billion. 14. Analysts had expected the trade surplus to narrow to C$1.50 billion in August. 15. The US Dollar Index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, jumped 1.30% to 86.85, the highest level since June 2010.
Posted on: Tue, 07 Oct 2014 07:30:50 +0000
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