BS: Dollar Rises as Haven Demand Overshadows Services, Hiring
The dollar rose against its most- traded counterparts as investors seeking a refuge from signs of slower global growth ignored U.S. reports showing the service industries and private employment expanded more than forecast.
Australia’s dollar slid to the least in almost a month after the nation had its widest trade deficit since 2008 and data showed China’s services industry expanded the least in more than a year. The euro slipped versus the greenback after a report showed the region’s services and manufacturing contracted and before the European Central Bank meets tomorrow.
“The overall backdrop is still that of weak data around the world,” Vassili Serebriakov, a currency strategist at Wells Fargo & Co. in New York, said in a telephone interview. “There’s also probably some caution around more subdued market trends ahead of key events later this week.”
The dollar rose 0.5 percent to 78.56 yen at 11:05 a.m. New York time and touched 78.57 yen, the highest since Sept. 19. It gained 0.1 percent to $1.2905 per euro. The 17-nation currency advanced 0.4 percent to 101.37 yen.
The Dollar Index (DXY), which tracks the U.S. currency against those of six major trading partners, rose 0.3 percent to 79.97, snapping a two-day decline.
The U.S. currency remained higher after the Institute for Supply Management’s index of U.S. non-manufacturing businesses, which covers about 90 percent of the economy, rose. It increased to 55.1 in September from the prior month’s 53.7, the Tempe, Arizona-based group said today. The median forecast in a Bloomberg News survey was for a decline to 53.4.
Employment Reports
Private employers in the U.S. increased payrolls by 162,000 workers in September following a revised 189,000 jump in August, figures from Roseland, New Jersey-based ADP Employer Services showed. The median forecast of 38 economists surveyed by Bloomberg projected a 140,000 advance.
A Labor Department report on Oct. 5 may show the unemployment rate rose to 8.2 percent in September, from 8.1 percent the prior month, according to a Bloomberg survey. The jobless rate has been stuck above 8 percent since February 2009.
To contact the reporter on this story: Joseph Ciolli in New York at jciolli@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Dave Liedtka at dliedtka@bloomberg.net
