The U.S. Dollar traded narrowly against major currencies in early Monday morning trading in Sydney. Financial markets in Japan were closed today due to a public holiday. On May 5, 2008 at 00:45 GMT, the U.S. Dollar traded at 105.40 Yen, compared to 105.39 Yen, while the Euro traded at $1.5447 compared to $1.5424 in late Friday trading in New York.
The U.S. jobs data released for April was better than expected, and that helped the U.S. Dollar on Friday, because investors believe that the U.S. economy and the liquidity crisis may recover soon.
The April non-farm payroll figures, also released on Friday, were also better than expected. Analysts were predicting job loss of 75,000; however, the data showed the loss of only 20,000 jobs. Analysts believe that, given the better than expected U.S. data, the Federal Reserve may stop cutting interest rates soon. To that end, last Wednesday, the Federal Reserve also signalled that the interest rate cutting exercise may soon be coming to an end.
Andrew Spencer, of Thomson IFR Markets, believes that the U.S. Dollar will rebound and appreciate against major currencies, except the Euro, in the coming months.