© Reuters.
Investing.com – The u.s. dollar was at its highest level in a week against the yen on Monday, while the strength of the data relating to employment and factories supported the demand for the greenback, but the position the more conservative of the federal Reserve in monetary policy may hinder the gains.
The data released on Friday showed that the u.s. economy created 304 000 jobs in January, a record 11-months, while a great survey followed by the Institute of Supply Management revealed that manufacturing activity has resumed unexpectedly in January.
The dollar gained ground against the yen, with USD / JPY up 0.36% to 109.85 to 03h32 ET (08h32 GMT), its highest level since January 25.
“The payroll non-farm is an important barometer, and that supports the dollar. A Fed dovish undermines the dollar/yen, but rising stocks and strong u.s. data has led to this rebound,” said Nick Twidale, chief operating officer at Rakuten Securities.
More generally, the exchange markets remained restricted, with the{{1|EUR / USD}} to 1,1444 and the GBP / USD to 1,3076.
The financial markets in china are closed all week for the holidays of the lunar New Year and other asian markets are closed for part of the week, which should contain the activity of the market.
The australian dollar was lower, with AUD / USD falling 0.26% to 0,7228 after the release of figures on housing starts weaker than expected.
Traders are now focusing on the monetary policy meeting of the Bank of Australia, where it is widely expected that the level of cash remains stable.
The weakening economic data has prompted analysts to think that the RBA will make monetary policy more accommodative.
“The markets are anticipating a rate cut, contrary to the opinion of the RBA, according to which the next movement will be a rate increase. The RBA will also have to temper its economic outlook is optimistic,” said Philip Wee, a strategist in the field of foreign exchange at DBS, in a note.
The new zealand dollar was slightly lower, the NZD / USD having dipped 0.12% to 0,6888.
The dollar index, an indicator of its value compared to six peer major, has increased from 0.14% to-95,43.
– Reuters contributed to this report
