WSJ: Dollar, Euro Weaken Further As Obama Talks About Jobs Report
By Stephen L. Bernard
Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
NEW YORK (Dow Jones)--The dollar and euro both fell further against the safe haven yen and Swiss franc after President Barack Obama began speaking about the disappointing U.S. employment report released earlier Friday.
Traders are shedding risk, in part, because of growing worries about a slowdown in global economic growth. Obama said the U.S. economy is not producing enough jobs and still has a long way to go before fully recovering.
Obama also cited uncertainty over Europe's ongoing sovereign debt crisis and the U.S. debt ceiling as concerns for the country.
The government said earlier in the day that employers added just 18,000 jobs last month, well short of the median forecast for gains of 125,000. May employment figures were also revised lower to gains of just 25,000 from a previously reported 54,000.
The euro fell to Y114.79 from Y116.62 late Thursday, according to EBS via CQG. The dollar fell to Y80.65 from Y81.24.
The euro was at CHF1.1916 from CHF1.2128, while the dollar was at CHF0.8376 from CHF0.8440.
-By Stephen L. Bernard, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-4528; stephen.bernard@dowjones.com
