Title: Dollar gains as traders wait to see if U.S. jobs data is strong

Dec 03, 2021 06:56AM ET

By: AnalysisWatch

The dollar reinforced against most significant monetary forms on Friday as merchants situated in front of key US occupations information that could prepare for a prior rate climb by the Federal Reserve.

Fed officials who spoke on Thursday joined Chairman Jerome Powell in taking a hawkish stance, with San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly saying it may be time to come up with a plan to raise rates to fight inflation and Richmond Fed President Thomas Barkin arguing for policy normalization.

At the same time, the continued global spread of the Omicron coronavirus last week strengthened safe currencies such as the dollar and the yen and put pressure on riskier currencies.

The dollar index, which estimates the greenback against the six significant monetary forms, rose 0.1% to 96.204 and is ready for a week-by-week gain. That would be the 6th week after week rise, the longest stretch since January 2015.

Money markets are looking at a high chance that the Fed will raise the key interest rate by a quarter-point at its June meeting.

Powell reiterated in his testimony to Congress on Wednesday that he and his colleagues will consider faster action at their meeting on December 14-15.

A Reuter’s poll showed economists estimated the United States added 530,000 jobs last month, continuing a string of good data. The figures are expected at 1330 GMT.

This would likely see USD crosses return to pre-Omicron levels at 97.00 for the DXY, while the EUR/USD is likely to fall towards the $1.1000 level, they said.