Monday, 07 September 2015 11:45
TOKYO: The dollar ticked up in Asia on Monday, after retreating last week on the back of a mixed US jobs report that clouded the timeline for a Federal Reserve rate hike.
The greenback rose to 119.37 yen from 119.00 yen Friday in New York, while the euro bought $ 1.1146 compared with $ 1.1152 in US trade.
The single currency strengthened to 133.05 yen from 132.70 yen.
The Australian dollar recovered slightly against the greenback, although it is still struggling near six-year lows owing to worries about a slowdown in its biggest trade partner, China, could hurt domestic growth.
The Aussie was at 69.29 US cents against 69.09 cents Friday.
On Friday the US Labor Department said the world’s number one economy created fewer jobs that expected in August, but revised upwards the previous two months’ gains to take the unemployment rate to 5.1 percent — the lowest since April 2008.
The figures have created an uncertain picture for Fed policymakers when they meet in the middle of this month to try to decide whether to hike interest rates.
Investors had been predicting the first rate hike in almost a decade as early as September, but growing concerns about stalling growth in China have thrown world markets into turmoil and clouded the outlook for the global economy.
Adding to the uncertainty, Beijing on Monday said the economy grew at a slower rate than initially thought last year, expanding 7.3 percent instead of the 7.4 percent first stated, its slowest rate in a quarter of a century.
While the figures had a limited impact on markets, they are the latest to highlight weakness in the economy, Asia’s top economy and a key driver of global growth.
Traders are now nervously waiting for the release this week of a slew of other indicators from Beijing, including on trade, inflation and investment.
