The U.S. dollar weakened against the other major currencies in the late Asian session on Thursday, as weaker U.S. jobs and manufacturing data released overnight raised expectations that the Federal Reserve may hold off raising U.S. interest rates until later in the year.
Private sector job growth in the U.S. continued to slow in the month of March, according to a report released by payroll processor ADP on Wednesday. ADP said private sector employment climbed by 189,000 jobs in March following a slightly upwardly revised increase of 214,000 jobs in February.
Economists had expected an increase of about 230,000 jobs compared to the addition of 212,000 jobs originally reported for the previous month.
Manufacturing activity in the U.S. saw continued growth in March, although the pace of growth slowed more than anticipated, the Institute for Supply Management said Wednesday. As well, a U.S. construction spending saw some further downside in February, after reporting a steep drop in spending in the previous month.
Traders will be watching for the U.S. jobs report for March due Friday, which is closely watched by the Fed. While, the equity markets will be closed for the Good Friday holiday.
Wednesday, the U.S. dollar fell 0.57 percent against the Swiss franc and 0.31 percent against the yen.
In the late Asian trading today, the U.S. dollar fell to a 3-day low of 0.9639 against the Swiss franc and a 2-day high of 1.0824 against the euro, from yesterday’s closing values of 0.9663 and 1.0761, respectively. If the greenback extends its downtrend, it is likely to find support around 1.10 against the euro and 0.93 against the franc.
Pulling away from an early more than a 3-week high of 0.7567 against the Australian dollar, the greenback edged down to 0.7599. On the downside, 0.78 is seen as the next support level for the greenback.
The greenback dropped to 1.4841 against the pound and 119.50 against the yen, from yesterday’s closing quotes of 1.4822 and 119.73, respectively. The greenback may test support near 1.51 against the pound and 117.06 against the yen.
Against the New Zealand and the Canadian dollars, the greenback edged down to 0.7479 and 1.2590 from yesterday’s closing quotes of 0.7447 and 1.2619, respectively. The greenback is likely to find support around 1.20 against the loonie and 0.77 against the kiwi.
Looking ahead, U.K. Markit/CIPS construction PMI for March is due to be released in the European session.
In the New York session, Canada merchandise trade data for February, U.S. weekly jobless claims for the week ended March 28 and U.S. trade balance and factory orders – both for February are slated for release.
At 3:45 pm ET, U.S. Federal Reserve Governor Lael Brainard is expected to speak at the Ninth Biennial Federal Reserve System Community Development Research Conference in Washington DC.
The material has been provided by InstaForex Company – www.instaforex.com