The yen strengthened on Monday in early Asia in a light data day regionally with markets in Tokyo shut.USD/JPY traded at 116.88, down 0.49%, while AUD/USD traded at 0.6929, down 0.25%.Markets in Japan will be closed for a national holiday. The Bank of Canada is to release its quarterly business outlook survey.In the week ahead, investors will continue to focus on economic reports out of China, with Wednesday’s trade data in the spotlight.The U.S. is to release data on retail sales, producer prices and consumer sentiment later in the week, while Thursday’s monetary policy meeting minutes from the Bank of England will also be in focus.The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was quoted down 0.27% to 98.19.Last week, the dollar pared back gains against the other major currencies on Friday as concerns over China continued to dominate market sentiment in spite of a robust U.S. jobs report for December.
The Labor Department reported that the U.S. economy added 292,000 jobs last month, after increasing an upwardly revised 252,000 in November. Economists had forecast payrolls to rise by 200,000.The unemployment rate held steady at a seven-and-a-half year low of 5% in December.The report bolstered expectations that the Federal Reserve could raise interest rates at a faster pace this year. Higher U.S. interest rates would make the dollar more attractive to yield-seeking investors.But concerns over slowing growth in China, which have been exacerbated by the swift rate of the Chinese yuan’s decline, saw the greenback trim back gains in late trade. The People’s Bank of China guided the yuan lower against the dollar in the first four trading sessions of 2016, roiling financial markets.While investors had expected the central bank to allow the yuan to fall further after last year’s 4.5% depreciation, the rapid pace of the devaluation has fueled fears that the world’s number two economy is growing even more slowly than expected.
The Labor Department reported that the U.S. economy added 292,000 jobs last month, after increasing an upwardly revised 252,000 in November. Economists had forecast payrolls to rise by 200,000.The unemployment rate held steady at a seven-and-a-half year low of 5% in December.The report bolstered expectations that the Federal Reserve could raise interest rates at a faster pace this year. Higher U.S. interest rates would make the dollar more attractive to yield-seeking investors.But concerns over slowing growth in China, which have been exacerbated by the swift rate of the Chinese yuan’s decline, saw the greenback trim back gains in late trade. The People’s Bank of China guided the yuan lower against the dollar in the first four trading sessions of 2016, roiling financial markets.While investors had expected the central bank to allow the yuan to fall further after last year’s 4.5% depreciation, the rapid pace of the devaluation has fueled fears that the world’s number two economy is growing even more slowly than expected.
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