Investing.com - The dollar was sharply lower against the yen on Wednesday after data on Tuesday showing weaker than expected U.S. jobs growth in September reinforced expectations that the Federal Reserve will delay plans to reduce its stimulus program.
During European morning trade, the dollar was sharply lower against the yen, with USD/JPY dropping 0.92% to 97.21.
The dollar dropped after the latest U.S. employment report showed that jobs growth had slowed even before the start of the recent 16-day government shutdown.
The Department of Labor said the U.S. economy added 148,000 jobs in September, well below expectations for an increase of 180,000.
The unemployment rate ticked down to a four-and-a-half year low of 7.2% from 7.3% in August, but this was partially due to more people dropping out of the labor force.
Elsewhere, the euro eased back from 23-month highs against the dollar as traders locked in profits following Tuesday’s sharp gains, with EUR/USD slipping 0.16% to 1.3759.
The dollar also pushed higher against the pound, with GBP/USD down 0.42% to 1.6168.
The dollar was little changed at 20-month lows against the traditional safe haven Swiss franc, with USD/CHF dipping 0.04% to 0.8944.
The greenback was sharply higher against its Australian and New Zealand counterparts, with AUD/USD dropping 0.88% to 0.9624 and NZD/USD tumbling 1.55% to 0.8380. The greenback also gained ground against the Canadian dollar, with USD/CAD advancing 0.43% to 1.0332.
Sentiment on the Australian and New Zealand dollars was hit by news that China's largest banks tripled the number of bad loan write-offs in the first half of the year, fuelling concerns over the outlook for the banking sector.
In Australia, data released on Wednesday showed that consumer price inflation rose 1.2% in the third quarter, exceeding expectations for a 0.8% increase.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, edged up 0.09% to 79.36.
Investors were looking ahead to the minutes of the Bank of England’s latest policy meeting later Wednesday, while the Bank of Canada was to announce its benchmark interest rate.
During European morning trade, the dollar was sharply lower against the yen, with USD/JPY dropping 0.92% to 97.21.
The dollar dropped after the latest U.S. employment report showed that jobs growth had slowed even before the start of the recent 16-day government shutdown.
The Department of Labor said the U.S. economy added 148,000 jobs in September, well below expectations for an increase of 180,000.
The unemployment rate ticked down to a four-and-a-half year low of 7.2% from 7.3% in August, but this was partially due to more people dropping out of the labor force.
Elsewhere, the euro eased back from 23-month highs against the dollar as traders locked in profits following Tuesday’s sharp gains, with EUR/USD slipping 0.16% to 1.3759.
The dollar also pushed higher against the pound, with GBP/USD down 0.42% to 1.6168.
The dollar was little changed at 20-month lows against the traditional safe haven Swiss franc, with USD/CHF dipping 0.04% to 0.8944.
The greenback was sharply higher against its Australian and New Zealand counterparts, with AUD/USD dropping 0.88% to 0.9624 and NZD/USD tumbling 1.55% to 0.8380. The greenback also gained ground against the Canadian dollar, with USD/CAD advancing 0.43% to 1.0332.
Sentiment on the Australian and New Zealand dollars was hit by news that China's largest banks tripled the number of bad loan write-offs in the first half of the year, fuelling concerns over the outlook for the banking sector.
In Australia, data released on Wednesday showed that consumer price inflation rose 1.2% in the third quarter, exceeding expectations for a 0.8% increase.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, edged up 0.09% to 79.36.
Investors were looking ahead to the minutes of the Bank of England’s latest policy meeting later Wednesday, while the Bank of Canada was to announce its benchmark interest rate.