Dollar gains as U.S. jobless claims back safe-haven bid
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NEW YORK — The dollar climbed to two-week highs on Thursday, garnering more
safe-haven bids, after yet another report showed millions more Americans took unemployment aid from the
government in the latest week as the coronavirus pandemic continued to ravage the U.S. economy.
The greenback also hit a two-week peak against the euro and traded near a seven-week high versus the
yen. Against the safe-haven Swiss franc, the dollar advanced for a fourth consecutive day.
“All things being equal, like in the beginning of this whole thing when there is uncertainty, people
flock to certainty, or less uncertainty and the dollar is the beneficiary,” said Thomas Anderson, managing
director, at moneycorp in Boston.
“We’re below 108 yen in dollar/yen. That’s the inflection point at least until June,” he added.
The U.S. currency held its gains after data showed U.S. weekly jobless claims totaled a seasonally
adjusted 3.169 million for the week ended May 2, down from a revised 3.846 million in the prior week.
Economists polled by Reuters had forecast 3.0 million claims in the last week.
In morning trading, the dollar index rose 0.1% to 100.30, just off a two-week high touched
earlier in the session of 100.33.
The dollar also gained 0.5% against the yen to 106.60 yen, and climbed 0.3% versus the Swiss
franc to 0.9776 franc.
The euro, meanwhile, fell 0.3% against the dollar to $1.0775, earlier dropping to a two-week
low of $1.0773, its lowest in two weeks. It has shed more than 1.5% this week and is set for its biggest
weekly drop in just over a month.
The single European currency weakened on nagging concern over the direction of the European Central
Bank’s stimulus scheme following a German court ruling earlier this week.
“The court ruling has opened up a lot more uncertainty over the continuation of the ECB’s asset
purchase program, which has been a key pillar of support for the economy and financial markets,” said
Lee Hardman, a currency strategist at MUFG.
Sterling was down 0.5% at $1.2284, after rallying earlier following the Bank of England’s
decision to leave interest rates unchanged and hold off on more stimulus.
In emerging markets, Turkey’s lira fell to a record low of 7.25 per U.S. dollar, after traders
interpreted comments from a Federal Reserve policymaker as ruling out a Fed swap line to cushion Ankara’s
depleted reserves.
Stronger-than-expected Chinese export numbers lifted hopes in global markets that China can rebound
quickly and help global growth recover from a coronavirus-induced shock.
Chinese exports rose 3.5% despite expectations of 15.7% drop, helping to lift the Chinese yuan
in the offshore market and the Australian dollar. The yuan was last up 0.3% at 7.1095 per U.S.
dollar.
The Aussie dollar was last up 0.7% at US$0.6449.
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Currency bid prices at 10:22AM (1422 GMT)
Description RIC Last U.S. Close Pct Change YTD Pct High Bid Low Bid
Previous Change
Session
Euro/Dollar EUR= $1.0773 $1.0794 -0.19% -3.90% +1.0815 +1.0767
Dollar/Yen JPY= 106.6200 106.1400 +0.45% -2.06% +106.6500 +106.0000
Euro/Yen EURJPY= 114.86 114.53 +0.29% -5.81% +115.0600 +114.4700
Dollar/Swiss CHF= 0.9775 0.9748 +0.28% +1.00% +0.9783 +0.9738
Sterling/Dollar GBP= 1.2272 1.2341 -0.56% -7.44% +1.2416 +1.2270
Dollar/Canadian CAD= 1.4050 1.4143 -0.66% +8.19% +1.4173 +1.4048
Australian/Doll AUD= 0.6443 0.6400 +0.67% -8.23% +0.6473 +0.6379
ar
Euro/Swiss EURCHF= 1.0531 1.0524 +0.07% -2.96% +1.0541 +1.0525
Euro/Sterling EURGBP= 0.8776 0.8740 +0.41% +3.81% +0.8780 +0.8710
NZ NZD= 0.6033 0.6008 +0.42% -10.44% +0.6062 +0.5996
Dollar/Dollar
Dollar/Norway NOK= 10.2509 10.2876 -0.36% +16.77% +10.3390 +10.2082
Euro/Norway EURNOK= 11.0447 11.0980 -0.48% +12.27% +11.1561 +11.0170
Dollar/Sweden SEK= 9.8540 9.8433 -0.16% +5.42% +9.8558 +9.8040
Euro/Sweden EURSEK= 10.6155 10.6330 -0.16% +1.40% +10.6415 +10.6036
(Reporting by Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss; Additional reporting Dhara Ranasinghe in London; Editing by
Bernadette Baum)
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