© Reuters. The dollar grows, euro slips
The dollar is advancing against a basket of currencies on Monday after figures have shown that the growth of jobs in the United States in December had not affected forecasts of rate increases by the Federal reserve this year.
The index dollar, which measures the greenback’s strength against a basket of currencies, gaining 0.25% to 91.98 at 91.83 at 03:07 AM ET (08:07 AM GMT), since a lower estimated 91.47 and reached the 2nd of January.
The employment non-agricultural advances of 148,000 in December, up from 252.000 last month, after a revision from an initial estimate of 228.000, according to figures released Friday.
The dollar slips briefly on this day, before returning to the field.
The data on jobs are unlikely to change investor expectations about a rate hike by the u.s. central bank at its march meeting. The Fed officials have scheduled three rate hikes this year and two in 2019.
Higher interest rates tend to boost the dollar, making the currency more attractive for investors in search of yield.
The american currency has started the year on a bad note after the dollar index has dropped to 9.8% in 2017, its largest annual decline in percentage terms since 2003.
The dollar is under pressure due to forecasts of a tightening policy faster than expected outside of the United States, which could reduce the divergence between the Fed and other central banks.
The dollar is advancing against the yen, with USD/JPY up 0.25% to 113.33.
The euro is declining, with the EUR/USD down 0.25% to 1.1999.
After having experienced a good start to the year, the single currency reached its highest level in four months, to 1.2088 on Thursday, near a high of 1.2092 reached in September, its highest level since the beginning of 2015.
The british pound declined against the dollar firmer, with GBP / USD down 0.26% to 1,3538.
The dollars of australia and new zealand have also declined, with the AUD/USD down 0.41% to 0.7832 and NZD/USD down 0.15% to 0,7160.
