The US dollar on Friday dipped as a US Federal Reserve official said rate hikes are likely to slow and investors took profits from earlier gains after last month’s US jobs data and wage inflation were surprisingly robust, obscuring the outlook for how hawkish the US central bank would be.
The greenback initially jumped after data showed that employers added 263,000 jobs last month, well above estimates of 200,000.
“Stronger-than-expected hiring can buy the Fed more time to stay aggressive,” said Joe Manimbo, senior market analyst at Convera in Washington.
Photo: Bloomberg
Investors zeroed in on an increase in average hourly earnings by 0.6 percent in the month, above expectations of a 0.3 percent gain, and the participation rate, which declined to 62.1 percent, said Marc Chandler, chief market strategist at Bannockburn Global Forex in New York.
“Both of those measures reflect more than the nonfarm payroll growth number the tightness of the labor market,” he said.
However, the US dollar gave back gains as investors took profits before the weekend and as Fed officials spoke on the outlook.
Chicago Fed President Charles Evans said that the pace of increases is likely to slow, but the US central bank would likely need to raise borrowing costs to a “slightly higher” peak than envisioned in forecasts from September.
Richmond Fed President Thomas Barkin said the US is likely in a sustained period in which there would continue to be a shortage of workers, complicating the Fed’s aim of getting labor demand back into balance.
The US dollar index on Friday closed down 0.21 percent against a basket of currencies at 104.51, declining 1.37 percent weekly.
The New Taiwan dollar rose against the US dollar on Friday, gaining NT$0.028 to close at NT$30.605, up 0.97 percent from NT$30.905 a week earlier.
The greenback slipped 0.76 percent against the Japanese yen to ￥134.31, while the euro gained 0.15 percent to US$1.0543.
Additional reporting by CNA, with staff writer
STEADY: Prices are to rebound following inventory rebuilding demand, TrendForce said, with Samsung Electronics Co further trimming capacity as it slashes DDR4 lines The contract prices of DRAM chips are to rise by as much as 18 percent sequentially this quarter — the first price upticks in about eight quarters — driven mainly by inventory rebuilding demand for DRAM chips used in mobile devices and PCs, TrendForce Corp (集邦科技) projected yesterday. The price rebound is led by a quarterly increase of mobile DRAM chips, which are to climb between 13 percent and 18 percent quarter-on-quarter this quarter, which has not been seen since the fourth quarter of 2021, the Taipei-based market researcher predicted. Likewise, the price of mainstream PC DDR4 DRAM is expected to bounce
CHINA NOT A FRIEND: ‘Newsflash: Democracy is good for your businesses,’ US Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo said as she gave a speech at a national defense forum US Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo on Saturday urged lawmakers, Silicon Valley and US allies to stop China from getting semiconductors and cutting-edge technologies key to national security. Speaking at an annual national defense forum in Simi Valley, California, Raimondo called Beijing “the biggest threat we’ve ever had” and stressed that “China is not our friend.” The world’s top two economies are locked in a fierce commercial and geopolitical rivalry, in which her department plays a leading role. In October, Raimondo unveiled a series of restrictions on the export of advanced chips to China, including those used in the development of artificial intelligence
A Hong Kong court postponed a court hearing on troubled Chinese property developer Evergrande Group’s (恆大集團) winding-up petition scheduled for yesterday until Jan. 29. Evergrande is trying to win support from its creditors for a plan to restructure more than US$300 billion in debt to stave off liquidation. The company’s lawyer told the court it was requesting an adjournment to “refine” its new debt restructuring plan. The Hong Kong High Court has postponed the hearing over Evergrande’s potential liquidation several times. Judge Linda Chan (陳靜芬) had said in October that yesterday’s hearing would be the last before a decision is handed down. Chan
SOLID FOUNDATION: Given its decades of expertise in megatronics, manufacturing and robotics, Japan has the wherewithal to create its own AI, Jensen Huang said Nvidia Corp plans to help build an artificial intelligence (AI) tech-related ecosystem in Japan to meet demand in a country eager to gain an edge in this emerging technology. The US company will seek to partner with Japanese research organizations, companies and start-ups to build factories for AI, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) said yesterday during opening remarks in a meeting with Japanese Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Yasutoshi Nishimura. The company is to set up an AI research laboratory, and invest in local start-ups and educate the public on using AI, Huang said. Huang earlier this week met with Japanese Prime
RSS