On Friday, the dollar resumed its surge against major rivals, as well as against the yen, ahead of a vital US employment report that might solidify the possibility of a 50 basis-point Federal Reserve interest rate hike next month.
With peace talks between Russia and Ukraine stalled but slated to continue later on Friday, the dollar gained support as a leading safe haven.
The dollar index, which compares the greenback to six other currencies including the euro and the yen, increased 0.10 percent to 98.420, following a 0.50 percent advance on Thursday.
It plummeted to a four-week low of 97.681 in the middle of the week, following a frantic ascent to a more than the nine-month peak of 99.415.
On May 5, the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) will make its next policy decision, with a 71 percent chance of a half-point rate hike according to CME Group’s FedWatch tool.
Economists expect the Labor Department report on Friday to reveal that almost half a million jobs were added in the United States last month, with the unemployment rate creeping lower and pay growth accelerating.
In a client note, Westpac strategists wrote that the dollar index “has underwhelmed recently but showed some backbone overnight (and) upside potential remains in scope amid ongoing waves of fiercely hawkish Fedspeak and an aggressive frontloaded profile that includes almost 100 basis points in hikes over the FOMC’s next two meetings.”
They projected that the dollar index would break over 100 in the “coming weeks.”
On June 14-15, the second of two FOMC meetings will take place.
The dollar gained 0.41 percent against the yen to 122.18, its highest level in four days, as the currency pair tracked changes in long-term US Treasury yields. After a three-week 6.5 percent increase, it is little altered this week.
