The dollar was steady in Monday’s Asian trading, having recovered late on Friday from the lows it hit after the weaker-than-expected nonfarm payrolls data. Nonfarm payrolls rose by 142,000 in September, which was short of the 203,000 expected by analysts. Average hourly earnings also disappointed, dampening expectations that the Fed would raise interest rates in the October meeting. Downward revisions to previous months’ data added to the gloom.
Speaking in an interview on Saturday, Boston Fed President Eric Rosengren said that the US economy would need to grow by at least 2% in the second half of the year to justify a rate rise in 2015. The dollar managed to rebound to around 120 yen in late Asian session, having reached a 4-week low of 118.67 yen on Friday. The euro came off Friday’s 2-week high of 1.1318 dollars and was holding steady at 1.1235 dollars. Meanwhile, sterling managed to claw back most of its losses from the dollar’s rebound late on Friday, climbing to 1.5219 dollars in late Asian trading.
Asian stocks rose sharply on Monday as many investors moved back their expectations of a US Fed rate hike to the first quarter of 2016. PMI data showing that the services sector slowed in Japan in September had little impact on the markets.
Crude oil prices extended their gains today after rising strongly on Friday. Reports that Russia is seeking to meet with other oil producers to discuss cuts in oil output boosted prices. A fall in the number of US oil rigs gave further support to oil prices. US crude oil futures were up 0.8% at $45.89 in late Asian session.
Higher commodity prices helped currencies such as the Canadian and Australian dollars to move higher. The greenback plunged to 1.3122 against the loonie, while the Aussie rose to 0.7075 against the dollar.
Coming up later in the day, UK services PMI and the final Eurozone services PMI for September will be the main data coming out in the European session. The latest Eurozone retail sales should also attract some attention. Over in the US, services PMI and the ISM non-manufacturing composite for September will be watched closely in the US session.