SINGAPORE:(News Agenncy) – The dollar was perched near a two-month high on Monday after a blowout U.S. jobs report sent traders ramping up bets on a Federal Reserve rate hike this year, while the yen teetered further into the intervention zone.Moves in currencies were largely muted compared to the broader market, where a rout in technology stocks swept across Asia. The dollar held to its strong gains made in the wake of the report that showed nonfarm payrolls increased by 172,000 jobs last ?month, far exceeding estimates.
Against the dollar, the euro fell to a two-month low of $1.1507, while sterling struggled at a three-week trough of $1.33165.
The Australian and New Zealand dollars similarly slid to their lowest in two months at $0.7016 and $0.5779, respectively.
“The U.S. payrolls report released … paints a picture of a U.S. labour market that is strengthening despite the ongoing energy price shock,” said Jonas Goltermann, chief markets economist at Capital Economics.
“That combination makes policy tightening by the Fed later this year increasingly probable … we now expect the FOMC to deliver two 25-basis-point rate hikes later this year, in response to the energy supply shock and the re-acceleration of the U.S. labour market.”
