Dollar Hits 15-Month High Against Yen as US Jobs Data Nears

The dollar hit a 15-maonth high against the yen and hovered near a multi-month peak against other major peer currencies on Thursday, July 1, ahead of a major US jobs report that could provide clues as to when the Fed will begin to scale back stimulus.

The US currency rose to 111,165 yen for the first time since March 26, 2020, before trading mainly stable compared to yesterday, Wednesday, at 111,095.

The dollar index, which measures the performance of the US currency against a basket of six corresponding currencies, consolidated below its highest level in two and a half months of 92.451, which was recorded in the previous session, to rise during the session to 92.415.

The index recorded its best monthly performance since November 2016 in June, led by a sudden shift in the tone of the US Federal Open Market Committee toward monetary tightening in the middle of that month, when policymakers hinted at two rate hikes by the end of 2023.

Traders are looking forward to the US non-farm payrolls report, due to be released on Friday, to confirm this outlook, while economists polled by Reuters expect jobs to rise by 700,000 jobs last month, compared to 559,000 in May, and the unemployment rate to drop to 5.7%, compared to 5.8 % in the previous month.

The US currency extended gains on Wednesday after data showed that the number of private sector workers rose more than expected by 692,000 jobs in June.

The euro fell to $1.1851 after falling to a low of $1.1845 on Wednesday for the first time since April 6.

The benchmark 10-year US Treasury yield fell to 1.4630% in Asia before rising to 1.4747%.

Safe haven assets including US treasuries, the dollar and the yen are being boosted by the spread of the highly contagious delta strain of COVID-19, threatening the trajectory of global reopening.

And the Australian dollar, which is considered an indicator of risk appetite, fell 0.2% to $ 0.7488, approaching its lowest level in six months, which it reached last week at $ 0.7478, in light of the application of general isolation measures in major centers in Australia.

The British pound fell 0.1% to $1.38115, falling towards its two-month low, which it recently recorded at $1.37865.