- Dollar ends week with 0.5% loss
- Bitcoin falls, but set for 20% weekly rise
- Traders reassess pace of U.S. recovery on weak jobs data
- Graphic: World FX rates https://tmsnrt.rs/2RBWI5E
(Recasts, adds new comment, updates prices)
The dollar was slightly higher on Friday, coming off its strongest level for the day, as risk appetite returned to the market in the afternoon with U.S. equities recovering from early losses and Treasury yields extending their rise.
Investors also consolidated gains made on other currencies at the expense of the dollar ahead of a long weekend in the United States. Financial markets are closed on Monday for Presidents Day.
The outlook for the dollar remained lower, according to Marshall Gittler, head of investment research at BDSwiss Group.
The dollar is "considered the safest of safe havens and tends to fall when people are not looking for safe havens," Gittler said. "With markets rallying and the U.S. Fed on hold indefinitely, I expect the dollar to be widely used as a funding currency, pushing its value down."
Bitcoin BTC=BTSP , meanwhile, was down 1.3% on the day at $47,356, after hitting a record high of $49,000. It posted gains of roughly 20% in a milestone week marked by the endorsement of major firms such as Elon Musk's Tesla TSLA.O .
The world's most popular cryptocurrency hit a record high overnight after U.S. banking group BNY Mellon BK.N said it had formed a unit to help clients hold, transfer and issue digital assets.
In afternoon trading, the dollar index =USD rose 0.1% to 90.494 after subdued volumes in Asia because of the Lunar New Year. On the week, the index fell 0.6%, its first losing week in three - in what ING analysts described as a "consolidative mood" amid uncertainty about the pace of the U.S. economic recovery.
Weaker-than-expected weekly U.S. jobless claims data on Thursday added to concerns the dollar's previous rally had priced in too fast an economic rebound.
The dollar was up 0.2% against the yen at 104.97 yen JPY=EBS . It fell 0.4% on the week, its steepest fall since mid-December.
There has been a divergence in views among traders so far this year over how U.S. President Joe Biden's planned $1.9 trillion fiscal stimulus package will affect the dollar.
Some see it as bolstering the currency as it should speed a U.S. recovery relative to other countries, while others reckon it would feed a global reflation narrative that should lift riskier assets at the dollar's expense.
The euro EUR=EBS slipped 0.1% to $1.2116, but on the week, the single European currency rose 0.5%. The British pound rose 0.2% versus the dollar to $1.3848 GBP=D3 , despite data showing Britain's economy suffered a record slump in 2020, although it did grow in the final quarter.
The Australian dollar AUD=D3 , a proxy for risk appetite, rallied from lows to trade flat on the day at US$0.7753. The New Zealand dollar NZD=D3 likewise cut its losses against the greenback.
======================================================== Currency bid prices at 3:23PM (2023 GMT)Description RIC Last U.S. Close Pct Change YTD Pct High Bid Low Bid Previous Change Session Dollar index =USD 90.4710 90.4120 +0.08% 0.545% +90.7410 +90.3780 Euro/Dollar EUR=EBS $1.2114 $1.2133 -0.15% -0.85% +$1.2135 +$1.2082 Dollar/Yen JPY=D3 104.9650 104.7300 +0.19% +1.59% +105.1750 +104.7850 Euro/Yen EURJPY= 127.17 127.05 +0.09% +0.20% +127.3200 +126.9900 Dollar/Swiss CHF=EBS 0.8921 0.8898 +0.27% +0.85% +0.8940 +0.8901 Sterling/Dollar GBP=D3 $1.3848 $1.3816 +0.22% +1.35% +$1.3862 +$1.3776 Dollar/Canadian CAD=D3 1.2704 1.2703 +0.02% -0.23% +1.2762 +1.2677 Aussie/Dollar AUD=D3 $0.7754 $0.7755 -0.01% +0.79% +$0.7764 +$0.7719 Euro/Swiss EURCHF= 1.0807 1.0794 +0.12% +0.00% +1.0809 +1.0788 Euro/Sterling EURGBP= 0.8746 0.8778 -0.36% -2.14% +0.8792 +0.8744 NZ NZD=D3 $0.7217 $0.7227 -0.12% +0.52% +$0.7232 +$0.7178 Dollar/DollarDollar/Norway NOK=D3 8.4665 8.4790 -0.22% -1.47% +8.5140 +8.4515 Euro/Norway EURNOK= 10.2582 10.2840 -0.25% -1.99% +10.3140 +10.2469 Dollar/Sweden SEK= 8.3133 8.3238 -0.16% +1.43% +8.3462 +8.3008 Euro/Sweden EURSEK= 10.0714 10.0871 -0.16% -0.05% +10.1137 +10.0670 <^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ World FX rates https://tmsnrt.rs/2RBWI5E^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^>
