Friday, July 4, 2008

Dollar Rallied on Trichet Comments

Euro Plunges on Trichet
by Korman Tam

The dollar rallied sharply against the euro in New York trading, rebounding from 1.5908 to beneath the 1.57-level at 1.5683. Ahead of a long weekend holiday in the US, traders digested a barrage of economic events earlier in the session prompting a sharp reversal in the euro from its 2 ½-month highs, falling by over 2 big figures.

The closely watched US labor report was largely inline with expectations, with the June non-farm payrolls slightly above forecast at -62k, from -49k. Meanwhile, the unemployment rate in June was higher than expected at 5.5% and unchanged from the previous month. Despite further losses in non-farm payrolls, the dollar found some respite since markets were preparing for an even greater loss of jobs following yesterday's unexpectedly disappointing ADP private-sector payrolls report, which declined by 79k. The June non-manufacturing ISM report missed consensus estimates, dipping beneath the key 50-level which distinguishes between contraction and expansion, to 48.2 versus calls for a smaller decline to 51.0 from 51.7.

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