RTTN:Dollar Struggles For Direction Ahead Of Jobs Reports
(RTTNews) - The dollar was in limbo Wednesday morning in New York, ahead of a key prelude to Friday's crucial U.S. jobs report.
Yesterday was a rough day for the dollar, which slipped from multi-month highs after an FT report suggested that EU finance ministers were exploring ways to recapitalize financial institutions having huge exposure to Greek sovereign debt.
A downbeat assessment of the U.S. economy from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke also weighed on the dollar.
The buck was stuck at $1.3450 versus the euro this morning, down from this week's 8-month peak of $1.3144.
The euro zone's private sector contracted for the first time in two years last month. Markit's Eurozone Services Purchasing Managers' Index fell to 48.8 last month from 51.5 in August, its lowest reading since July 2009
Eurozone retail sales declined in August on weak non-food product sales, data from Eurostat showed Wednesday.
Retail sales were down 0.3 percent month-on-month in August, reversing a 0.2 percent rise in July. The August figure came in line with economists' expectations.
A similar pattern was seen against the sterling, with the dollar easing to $1.5450 from a yearly peak near $1.5350.
The U.K. economy logged weaker than expected growth in the second quarter, raising chances of additional quantitative easing from the central bank in order to underpin the fragile recovery.
The economy grew only 0.1 percent sequentially in the second quarter instead of the initially estimated 0.2 percent growth, data from the Office for National Statistics showed Wednesday. The growth was slower than the 0.4 percent rate it logged in the first quarter.
There was little movement near Y76.70 versus the yen, leaving the dollar in the middle of a stubborn trading range. The pair has barely budged since the dollar hit a record low 75.94 in August.
Looking at today's economic calendar from the U.S., the ADP National Employment report, which sheds light on non-farm private employment, is scheduled to be released at 8:15 am ET. The consensus expectations are for an addition of 90,000 jobs by the sector in September.
The Institute for Supply Management is scheduled to release the results of its non-manufacturing survey at 10 am ET. The non-manufacturing index is likely to show a reading of 52.9 for September compared to 53.3 in August.
