US dollar higher, yen declines

The US dollar was at its strongest level of the year on Friday after new employment data was interpreted as favoring more hikes in the interest rate. The data showed average hourly earnings up 3.5 percent in February on an annualized basis, its biggest jump since September 2001. Additionally, 243,000 new jobs were created in February, higher than the forecast of 210,000, although this growth was partially offset by a downward revision 23,000 in January’s reported number of new jobs.

The greenback was up 1.4 percent over the week to $1.7262 in relation to sterling, for the year’s highest value against the UK currency. The dollar also gained 1 percent versus the euro, to $1.1888.

The yen’s week was not quite as positive after the announcement on Thursday that the Bank of Japan has decided to end its loose monetary policy, even though it will likely be months before Japanese interest rates rise above its current level of nearly zero.

At one point during the day the yen hit a one-month low of ¥119.13 versus the US dollar, but it later eased to a close of ¥119.05, a loss of 2.2 percent for the week. The Japanese currency dropped 1.1 percent during the week in relation to the euro, to ¥141.52.

The New Zealand dollar, meanwhile, continued its slide, losing 3.9 percent on the week to $0.6400 versus the US dollar. The Turkish lira and the South African rand also dropped in relation to the US dollar, with the lira losing 3.2 percent to TL1.35 and the rand dropping 1 percent to R6.253. The Canadian dollar dropped 2.1 percent against the greenback.

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