On Friday, the US Dollar (USD) surged, marking its 12th consecutive week ofgains, following a robust U.S. jobs report for September. This reportincreased the likelihood of the Federal Reserve raising interest rateslater this year. The last time the dollar achieved this feat was in 2014.
Throughout this week, the greenback saw a 0.5% increase, and these 12 weeksof consecutive gains translated to an 8% boost in its value. Against theyen, the dollar has risen in four of the last five weeks.
Data revealed that U.S. nonfarm payrolls grew by 336,000 jobs in theprevious month. Furthermore, the figures for August were revised upwards,indicating the addition of 227,000 jobs, as opposed to the previouslyreported 187,000. Economists surveyed by Reuters had anticipated a rise of170,000 jobs in September.
Following this payroll data, U.S. rate futures now suggest a 31% chance ofa rate hike next month, compared to approximately 20% on Thursday,according to the CME’s FedWatch tool.
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The dollar index briefly reached 106.98 but has since moderated its gains,currently trading up 0.1% at 106.43. Against the yen, the greenbackstrengthened by 0.5% to 149.22.
Michael Brown, a market analyst at Trader X in London, remarked, “Clearly,the labor market remains robust and continues to exceed expectations,despite a tightening of 500 basis points over the past 18 months.”