Investing.com - The dollar softened against the yen on Thursday after investors locked in gains stemming from a solid private-sector jobs report and sold the greenback for profits to await the release of official U.S. employment data on Friday.
In U.S. trading, USD/JPY was down 0.06% and trading at 104.79.
The dollar rose this week after payroll processor ADP reported that private-sector nonfarm payrolls increased by 238,000 in December, surpassing consensus forecasts for an increase of 200,000.
The Federal Reserve has said it will pay close attention to indicators when deciding the fate of its USD75 billion monthly bond-buying program, and the data fueled expectations for the U.S. central bank to scale down purchases even further this year.
Fed bond purchases aim to prop up the economy by suppressing long-term borrowing costs, weakening the dollar as a side effect.
By Thursday, however, investors sold the greenback for profits and camped out in safe-haven yen and in attractively-priced gold positions prior to the publication of the December jobs report.
Earlier Thursday, the Labor Department said the number of individuals filing for unemployment assistance in the U.S. last week fell by 15,000 to 330,000 from the previous week’s revised total of 345,000.
Economists had expected jobless claims to decline by 10,000.
The yen, meanwhile, was down against the euro and down against the pound, with EUR/JPY trading up 0.07% at 142.46, and GBP/JPY trading up 0.07% at 172.61.
On Friday, markets will move on the U.S. December jobs report.
In U.S. trading, USD/JPY was down 0.06% and trading at 104.79.
The dollar rose this week after payroll processor ADP reported that private-sector nonfarm payrolls increased by 238,000 in December, surpassing consensus forecasts for an increase of 200,000.
The Federal Reserve has said it will pay close attention to indicators when deciding the fate of its USD75 billion monthly bond-buying program, and the data fueled expectations for the U.S. central bank to scale down purchases even further this year.
Fed bond purchases aim to prop up the economy by suppressing long-term borrowing costs, weakening the dollar as a side effect.
By Thursday, however, investors sold the greenback for profits and camped out in safe-haven yen and in attractively-priced gold positions prior to the publication of the December jobs report.
Earlier Thursday, the Labor Department said the number of individuals filing for unemployment assistance in the U.S. last week fell by 15,000 to 330,000 from the previous week’s revised total of 345,000.
Economists had expected jobless claims to decline by 10,000.
The yen, meanwhile, was down against the euro and down against the pound, with EUR/JPY trading up 0.07% at 142.46, and GBP/JPY trading up 0.07% at 172.61.
On Friday, markets will move on the U.S. December jobs report.