- U.S. economy loses 701,00 jobs in March
- Dollar index set to gain nearly 2.5% for the week
- Graphic: World FX rates in 2020 https://tmsnrt.rs/2RBWI5E
(Adds new comment, details on euro weakness updates prices)
The dollar firmed against major currencies for a third straight day on Friday, as investors took shelter in the U.S. currency amid worsening economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic.
"As we see poor data coming in from Europe, UK, Italy, if you're trying to be rushing anywhere, it would be U.S. Treasuries and the U.S. dollar as a safe haven," said John Doyle, vice president of dealing and trading at Tempus Inc in Washington.
The dollar largely shrugged off the U.S. non-farm payrolls report that showed massive job losses of 701,000 last month, compared with expectations of 100,000 lost jobs.
March's contraction abruptly ended a historic 113 straight months of employment growth. The Labor Department also revised February's number upward to 275,000 job gains. The unemployment rate rose to 4.4% from 3.5% the previous month.
"The plunge in non-farm payrolls in March, which is already close to the worst monthly declines during the global financial crisis, suggests the coronavirus pandemic started to decimate the economy even sooner than we thought," said Andrew Hunter, senior U.S. economist at Capital Economics.
The non-farm payrolls report followed Thursday's data showing initial claims for U.S. unemployment benefits rose to 6.65 million in the latest week from an unrevised 3.3 million the previous week. The figures far exceeded the median estimate of 3.50 million in a Reuters survey of economists.
In midday trading, the U.S. dollar index was up 0.6% at 100.78 =USD . The index is on track for a 2.5% gain on the week, having whipsawed last month from highs on a scramble for cash before slumping as the U.S. Federal Reserve flooded the market with liquidity.
The euro was down 0.6% against the dollar at $1.0787 EUR=EBS , on pace for a 3.1% weekly loss. Indecision among euro zone governments about a rescue package for the region's hobbled economies has weakened the euro in recent days, helping the dollar to its best day in two weeks against the single currency on Thursday.
Analysts said the euro may also be faltering due to rebalancing by forex reserve managers stocking up on dollars.
The Japanese yen, Swiss franc, sterling and the Australian and New Zealand dollars all lost ground as the dollar strengthened across the board. JPY=EBS CHF=EBS GBP=D3 AUD=D3 NZD=D3 .
The dollar was last up 0.4% at 108.39 yen. As lockdowns continue, the economic impact of the epidemic is becoming more marked, with purchasing managers' indexes across the euro zone and Britain on Friday showing a slump in business activity.
======================================================== Currency bid prices at 12:35PM (1635 GMT)Description RIC Last U.S. Close Pct Change YTD Pct High Bid Low Bid Previous Change Session Euro/Dollar EUR= $1.0789 $1.0856 -0.62% -3.76% +1.0864 +1.0774 Dollar/Yen JPY= 108.3800 107.9000 +0.44% -0.44% +108.6700 +107.8100 Euro/Yen EURJPY= 116.95 117.13 -0.15% -4.10% +117.3800 +116.7400 Dollar/Swiss CHF= 0.9784 0.9736 +0.49% +1.10% +0.9795 +0.9729 Sterling/Dollar GBP= 1.2245 1.2392 -1.19% -7.65% +1.2410 +1.2208 Dollar/Canadian CAD= 1.4131 1.4131 +0.00% +8.82% +1.4224 +1.4095 Australian/Doll AUD= 0.6000 0.6059 -0.97% -14.56% +0.6075 +0.5981 arEuro/Swiss EURCHF= 1.0557 1.0566 -0.09% -2.72% +1.0577 +1.0544 Euro/Sterling EURGBP= 0.8810 0.8754 +0.64% +4.21% +0.8836 +0.8742 NZ NZD= 0.5857 0.5916 -1.00% -13.05% +0.5922 +0.5844 Dollar/DollarDollar/Norway NOK= 10.6186 10.3582 +2.51% +20.96% +10.6208 +10.3830 Euro/Norway EURNOK= 11.4584 11.2798 +1.58% +16.46% +11.4586 +11.2306 Dollar/Sweden SEK= 10.1852 10.0744 +0.17% +8.96% +10.1983 +10.0928 Euro/Sweden EURSEK= 10.9961 10.9769 +0.17% +5.03% +10.9998 +10.9250
