US Dollar Gains Ahead of Jobs Report on Friday

The U.S. dollar was firmer against most major currencies with the exception of the Japanese yen, which benefited from haven demand amid heightened geopolitical risks in Asia and Europe.

The ICE Dollar Index DXY, +0.14%  was trading nearly unchanged at 101.48.

Last week, after several key Federal Reserve officials confirmed that the central bank is likely to raise rates at the next policy meeting on March 15, the dollar rallied to hit a two-month high. When Fed chair Janet Yellen all but confirmed a March rate hike in commentary on Friday, the dollar weakened on what some analysts called “profit taking.”

“There was a typical “buy the rumor (that Yellen would confirm what nearly all of the other Fed officials have been saying) sell the fact (when she did)” activity in a relatively thinly participated Friday afternoon in North America,” wrote Marc Chandler, global head of currency strategy at Brown Brothers Harriman in emailed notes.

“The dollar had moved higher for several sessions in a row, and the market had priced in a March hike by nearly as much as it could,” Chandler said.

On Monday, the dollar was stronger against the euro and the British pound, though Chandler said not to put too much stress on today’s moves as the key events and data that will impact currencies will be coming later this week, including a nonfarm payrolls reading on Friday.

via MarketWatch

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