The U.S. dollar declined to its lowest point in several weeks against a basket of currencies on Tuesday, as investors looked to U.S. jobs figures later this week. They are looking for more information about the possible path of U.S. Federal Reserve monetary policy. The greenback struggled since Fed Chair Jerome Powell said at the conference in Wyoming that tapering could begin in 2021.
The U.S. currency briefly pared some of its decline on the session. The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller composite index of 20 metropolitan areas helped to boost the greenback for a while. The index showed U.S. single-family home prices rose in June from the previous year at the fastest pace on record.
Choppiness for the dollar ensued as a weaker-than-expected Chicago PMI for August saw the greenback trim its decline, only to once again resume a downward move after the Conference Board’s reading for consumer confidence failed to meet expectations.
Analysts and investors will look to a round of U.S. data later this week to measure the strength of the labor market. They are trying to determine when the central bank may begin tightening its policy.
According to economists, the U.S. economy created 750,000 jobs in August and the unemployment rate dropped to 5.2%. In two days, it will be possible to compare their data with the data of the Labor Department. The U.S. economy added 943,000 jobs and unemployment dropped to 5.4% in July. Education played an important role in July, with 261,000 jobs added in public schools and private education.
Dollar, pound, euro, and yen
The dollar index dropped 0.065%, with the euro up 0.12% to $1.1809.
The U.S. currency fell to a low of 92.395 on the day, its lowest level since August 6. Nevertheless, it is still up more than 0.6% for the month.
Euro zone inflation jumped to a 10-year-high in August, with the consumer prices in the 19 countries sharing the euro up by 3%.
The British pound strengthened to a two-week high of $1.3807. The pound was last trading at $1.3753, down 0.04% on the day.
The Japanese yen fell 0.4% versus the U.S. currency to 109.96 per dollar.
Elsewhere, Bitcoin rose 0.49% to $47,235.84 at some point on Tuesday. Ethereum jumped 4.95% to $3,386.14 and Ether rose to as much as $3,475, its best result in several months.
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