By: Barbara Zigah
The U.S. Dollar remained flat in Friday trading in Sydney as investors consolidated positions in advance of the release of non-farms payroll data due out from the U.S. Department of Labor later today. Disappointing numbers should drive foreign exchange players to the so-called safe haven currencies like the Japanese Yen and the U.S. Dollar, while a positive report will ensure gains in higher yielding currencies like the single currency Euro, and the Australian and New Zealand Dollars. Forecasts suggest, however, that the data will show that the number of jobs lost will be significantly fewer than September’s job loss figures; it is expected, though, that the jobless rate will rise to nearly 10%, the highest it’s been in nearly 26 years.
The U.S. Dollar Index, which compares the greenback’s value against a group of six major currencies, held steady at 75.74 .DXY; one of the biggest components of that grouping, the Euro, also remained relatively flat, trading at $1.4875, though it had been as high as $1.4917 in yesterday’s trading session, following the ECB President’s optimistic commentary. The Japanese Yen also held relatively stable, trading at 90.75 Yen against the Dollar.
U.S. Dollar relatively Flat in advance of U.S. Labor Data
After working on Wall Street, Barb began her second career as a freelance writer at Daily Forex, where the CEO recognized fresh, untapped potential and was willing to give her a try. She’s never looked back. Since then, she’s worked steadily as a freelance writer and editor in the financial services and Forex-related industry.