RTRS: Dollar slips on jobs data, but G20 limits losses
The dollar dipped against the euro and yen on Wednesday after data showed another month of heavy U.S. job losses, though caution ahead of a Group of 20 summit and European Central Bank meeting capped the moves.
Investors were watching leaders from 20 high-income and developing countries meeting in London to see whether they can adopt coordinated measures to ward off a deeper global slump.
That eased reaction to a report from ADP Employer Services showing the United States shed another 742,000 private sector jobs in March, more than economists were expecting.
Jessica Hoversen, a currency analyst at MF Global in Chicago, called it "a really bad number" that bodes ill for the government's more comprehensive jobs report on Friday.
But she said the G20 and an expected ECB interest rate cut on Thursday "will keep a lid" on price action.
The euro was trading at $1.3270, up 0.2 percent. The dollar was down 0.2 percent at 98.62 yen while the euro was unchanged at 130.95 yen.
The dollar rose after Bloomberg reported President Barack Obama was leaning toward bankruptcy as the best way forward for General Motors and Chrysler but retreated when a White House official said the report was "not accurate."
The dollar tends to rally on bad economic news because it attracts safe-haven flows from higher-yielding currencies and assets such as stocks.
Sterling gained 0.5 percent to $1.4385 after data showing the rate of decline in Britain's manufacturing sector eased much more than expected last month.
Markets expect the ECB to cut interest rates by 50 basis points to 1 percent on Thursday but will focus on whether it adopts unconventional measures such as increasing money supply.
Hoversen said the possibility that it signals plans to follow other central banks and purchase corporate bonds will keep the euro from gaining much ground on Wednesday.
Data on Wednesday showed euro zone unemployment jumped by more than expected in February to 8.5 percent.
"The data highlights the weakness in the economy, suggests the ECB continues to cut rates ... and further extension of liquidity supplied to banks," said Juergen Michels, economist at Citigroup.
Market attention is also focused on any developments at the G20. Obama, speaking on the eve of the summit, denied rifts between the world's leading economies and urged them to seek a consensus on joint action.
"Clearly the G20 meeting is plastered across the headlines and although some suggest this won't solve the current financial problems, it's going to be the posturing and detail that stands to influence specific currencies here," CMC Markets said in a note.