USD/JPY rises above 140 yen as dollar gains after ADP jobs

The yen was weaker after disappointing Economic data out of Japan on Thursday morning. PMI data published by Nikkei-Markit showed the index fell to 51.2 in February from 52.4 the previous month.

Consequently, USD/JPY rose back above 114.00 yen, up 0.5 percent at 114.05 and moving back toward the previous session’s two-week high of 114.56.

The dollar gained strength on Wednesday after the ADP National Employment Report showed US private sector jobs rose a surprisingly strong 214,000 in February. This raised hopes that the nonfarm payrolls report on Friday would also produce upbeat numbers. Strong data will boost expectations that the Federal Reserve will likely remain on track to raise interest rates this year.

In other currencies, the euro slipped about 0.1 percent to $1.0858, while against the broadly weaker yen, the euro gained about 0.5 percent to 123.86.

The single currency is likely to remain under pressure ahead of next week’s European Central Bank policy meeting. There are growing expectations the ECB will take action and cut interest rates further into negative territory. The Bank is also expected to step up its asset purchase program.

The Australian dollar has been outperforming since yesterday, mainly helped by the much better-than-expected growth data released yesterday. AUD/USD rose to a new high for this year so far to reach $0.7320.

In commodity markets, Brent crude, the international benchmark, was flat at $36.94 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate was 0.2 per cent higher at $34.72. Prices advanced on Wednesday despite data showing US crude inventories rising last week by more than expected.

Equity markets were up in Asia. Japan’s Nikkei 225 was up 0.9 per cent and the broader Topix was 1.1 per cent higher, helped by a weaker yen and following on from strong gains of around 4 per cent on Wednesday. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 was up 0.8 per cent thanks to another solid session for commodity stocks and the major banks. China’s Shanghai Composite was 0.3 per cent higher and the tech-focused Shenzhen Composite was up 1 per cent.

The post USD/JPY rises above 140 yen as dollar gains after ADP jobs appeared first on FXTM Blog.

Source:: USD/JPY rises above 140 yen as dollar gains after ADP jobs