Investing.com - The U.S. dollar was mixed against the other major currencies to start the week as traders in Asia digest the latest round of U.S. economic data and mull the possibilities of technical weakness in the U.S. Dollar Index.
In Asian trading Monday, EUR/USD dropped 0.11% to 1.3628 after touching 1.3711 on Friday; the pair’s highest since mid-November 2011. GBP/USD added 0.02% to 1.5703. Riskier currencies caught a bid against the green back last week after the Department of Labor said the economy added 157,000 jobs in December, slightly below expectations for a 160,000 increase, while the unemployment rate ticked up to 7.9% from 7.8% in November.
However, November and December nonfarm payrolls figures were revised sharply higher to 247,000 and 196,000 respectively. In other U.S. economic news, University of Michigan-Thomson Reuters consumer sentiment survey rose to a January reading of 73.8, up from 72.9 in December. Economists expected a January reading of 71.5.
The Institute for Supply Management said its manufacturing index for January climbed to 53.1% from 50.2% in December. Economists expected a January reading of 51%. Readings above 50% indicate expansion. The U.S. is the world’s largest oil consumer.
Elsewhere, USD/JPY fell 0.15% to 92.65. USD/CHF climbed 0.08% to 0.9084 while USD/CAD rose 0.11% to 0.9977 due to a slight drop for West Texas intermediate crude futures.
Some of the other riskier currencies were buoyed by another encouraging Chinese data point. Over the weekend, National Bureau of Statistics and China Federation of Logistics & Purchasing said China’s non-manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index climbed to 56.2 in January from 56.1 in December. Readings above 50 indicate expansion.
That helped AUD/USD jumped 0.16% to 1.0427 while NZD/USD climbed 0.03% to 0.8458. The aforementioned U.S. Dollar Index rose 0.06% to 79.27. Traders see a bearish pattern forming if the index falls below 78.
In Asian trading Monday, EUR/USD dropped 0.11% to 1.3628 after touching 1.3711 on Friday; the pair’s highest since mid-November 2011. GBP/USD added 0.02% to 1.5703. Riskier currencies caught a bid against the green back last week after the Department of Labor said the economy added 157,000 jobs in December, slightly below expectations for a 160,000 increase, while the unemployment rate ticked up to 7.9% from 7.8% in November.
However, November and December nonfarm payrolls figures were revised sharply higher to 247,000 and 196,000 respectively. In other U.S. economic news, University of Michigan-Thomson Reuters consumer sentiment survey rose to a January reading of 73.8, up from 72.9 in December. Economists expected a January reading of 71.5.
The Institute for Supply Management said its manufacturing index for January climbed to 53.1% from 50.2% in December. Economists expected a January reading of 51%. Readings above 50% indicate expansion. The U.S. is the world’s largest oil consumer.
Elsewhere, USD/JPY fell 0.15% to 92.65. USD/CHF climbed 0.08% to 0.9084 while USD/CAD rose 0.11% to 0.9977 due to a slight drop for West Texas intermediate crude futures.
Some of the other riskier currencies were buoyed by another encouraging Chinese data point. Over the weekend, National Bureau of Statistics and China Federation of Logistics & Purchasing said China’s non-manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index climbed to 56.2 in January from 56.1 in December. Readings above 50 indicate expansion.
That helped AUD/USD jumped 0.16% to 1.0427 while NZD/USD climbed 0.03% to 0.8458. The aforementioned U.S. Dollar Index rose 0.06% to 79.27. Traders see a bearish pattern forming if the index falls below 78.