US Dollar Slightly Down Amidst Holiday Trading

The US dollar hedged down in relation to other major currencies during early Monday trading, but not significantly. With reduced liquidity in the markets due to the US Labor Day holiday, investors from the rest of the world are still processing the meaning of the latest employment figures from the US, which were published on Friday. The number of new jobs created in August was better than expected, albeit lower than in previous months. At the same time, average earnings grew less than expected, and unemployment just overshot expectations. Against this background, the goldilocks scenario of a soft landing envisaged by Jerome Powell’s Fed, with inflation decreasing and the economy slowing but not entering a recession, appears increasingly achievable. If confirmed, this dynamic is likely to support further dollar gains as economies elsewhere are struggling to grow.

Ricardo Evangelista – Senior Analyst, ActivTrades