USD Rallied as Investors Cheered Declines in Jobless Claims

On Friday, August 6, the USD continued its gains as investors cheered yesterday’s release of initial jobless claims with an estimated 14,000 declines.

The Dollar Index, which trails the greenback in opposition to its six other rival currencies, inched 0.08% higher to 92.328.

One of the reasons for the gain of the USD is the drop in the initial jobless claims. 

The data came in at 385K which is an improvement from the previous 399K. The actual result is also better than the 384K analysts’ forecast.

Moreover, investors also absorbed a mixed back on this week’s US economic data. 

The climb of the greenback on Thursday was partly due to the positive data released last Wednesday.

The services purchasing managers’ index came at a good reading of 59.9 which is higher than the 59.8 forecasts. However, it is a fall from the previous 64.6 level.

In addition, the Institute of Supply Management’s non-manufacturing employment came at a better than expected level of 53.8. This is higher than the 49.3 previous records.

Then, the ISM non-manufacturing purchasing managers’ index reached a high record of 64.1. This is better than the expected analyst projection of 60.5 and its previous 60.1 level.

Also, the ADP non-farm employment change dropped twice to 330K from its previous 680K record and 695K analyst estimate.

Earlier in the week, the US Federal Reserve Vice Chair said that conditions to have an increase in interest rates could be met in late 2022.

This led to a sharper focus on the jobs report due later in the day and the labor market recovery from the coronavirus pandemic.

Currency Exchange Rates over USD

Furthermore, the GBP/USD plummeted 0.05% to 1.3920. The Bank of England kept its other policy settings unchanged as well as its interest rate at 0.10%.

Also, the AUD/USD and the SEK/USD both declined 0.24% to 0.7387 and 0.05% or 0.1161, respectively.

Consequently, the EUR/USD and the USD/CAD also lost 0.06% to 1.1826 and 0.01% to 1.2506, respectively. Additionally, the NZD/USD also fluctuated 0.09% to $0.7046.

On the other hand, the USD/CHF increased 0.06% to $0.9081. Likewise, the USD/CNY and the USD/JPY both plunged 0.06% to 6.4646 and 0.10% to 109.84, respectively.