Investing.com - The dollar added to gains against the yen on Monday after Friday’s robust U.S. jobs report for July, as investors looked ahead to further economic reports due later in the week for fresh indications on the direction of U.S. interest rates.
The Labor Department reported Friday that the U.S. economy added 255,000 jobs last month, easily outstripping forecasts for a gain of 180,000.
June’s number was revised up to 292,000 jobs compared with the previous estimate of 287,000.
The data boosted the outlook for the U.S. economy and was seen as renewing hopes that the Federal Reserve could raise interest rates this year.
Higher interest rates typically boost the dollar by making it more attractive to yield seeking investors.
USD/JPY rose 0.6% to 102.39, the highest level since August 2.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was up 0.1% at 96.3 after rising 0.44% on Friday.
EUR/USD was flat at 1.1083, not far from Friday’s one-week lows of 1.1045.
Investors were looking ahead to Friday’s data on U.S. retail sales for a fresh indication on the timing of a possible rate hike before the end of this year.
An interview with Fed policymaker Jerome Powell published Monday, but conducted before Friday’s jobs report was seen as diminishing the chances of a rate hike before September.
Powell reiterated that any increases to interest rates should be “very gradual” in light of the risks emanating from the global economy and emphasized that the fact that inflation was below target would allow the Fed to be patient.
The dollar was near one-week highs against the Swiss franc, with USD/CHF at 0.9815.