The US dollar showed mixed performance in Friday’s trading session, with the dollar index rising by 0.2% to 104.99. This movement followed the closely-watched US jobs report, which showed stronger-than-expected non-farm payroll gains for June at 206,000, although May’s figures were revised downward. Wages grew moderately, and the unemployment rate inched up to 4.1%, the highest since late 2021. These signs of a softening labor market have fueled expectations that the Federal Reserve may initiate interest rate cuts as soon as September.
Elsewhere in the forex market, the euro and British pound weakened against the dollar, with EUR/USD slipping to 1.0820 and GBP/USD falling to 1.2786. Political uncertainty in France added additional pressure to the euro ahead of the country’s parliamentary elections. Meanwhile, the Japanese yen remained under strain as USD/JPY hovered near 160, raising speculation about potential intervention from Japanese authorities to curb its weakness. Overall, the forex market remains sensitive to economic indicators and central bank signals, with attention now shifting to upcoming US inflation data for further clues on rate policy.
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