TOKYO- The dollar hit a fresh 15-month high versus the yen and hovered near multi-month peaks against other major peers on Thursday, ahead of a key US jobs report that should offer clues on when the Federal Reserve will start to pare back stimulus.
The US currency rose as high as 111.165 yen for the first time since March 26, 2020, before easing back slightly to 111.055.
The dollar index, which measures the greenback against six counterparts, held just below a 2 1/2-month top of 92.451 reached Wednesday, edging up on the day to 92.402.
The index posted its best month since November 2016 in June, driven by the Fed’s surprise hawkish shift in the middle of that month, when policymakers signaled two interest rate hikes by the end of 2023.
Traders are looking to Friday’s US nonfarm payrolls report for confirmation of that outlook, with economists polled by Reuters expecting a gain of 700,000 jobs last month, compared with 559,000 in May, and an unemployment rate of 5.7 percent versus 5.8 percent in the previous month.
The greenback extended gains Wednesday after data showed US private payrolls increased a greater-than-expected 692,000 jobs in June.
“I see the balance of risk skewed to an above-consensus print” for nonfarm payrolls, Chris Weston, head of research at broker Pepperstone in Melbourne, wrote in a note to clients. “A payrolls north of 800k could get US bond yields higher and put a further bid in the USD.” – Reuters
