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FX round-up: Dollar up versus yen after US jobs surprise

Date: Monday 06 Feb 2012

A surprisingly strong US jobs report spurred interest in the dollar against the yen on Friday and increased hopes that the US Federal Reserve will refrain from further quantitative easing and raising interest rates until 2014.

Data from the US Labor Department revealed 243,000 non-farm jobs were created in January while the unemployment rate fell to a three year low of 8.3%.

The dollar initially fell against the euro after the jobs report but rose against the safe haven yen as buyers sought higher risk currencies. The euro was at $1.3163 from $1.3144 late Thursday.

The allure of the single currency was capped by ongoing concern about the euro zone debt crisis with investors still patiently waiting for the result of talks between Greece and its private creditors.

The ICE dollar index, which measures the US currency against a basket of six others, rose to a high of 79.356 before retreating to 78.969 versus 79.010 the previous session.

Against the yen, the greenback gained 0.50% to ¥76.57. A separate survey showing a bigger than expected expansion in the US services sector last month also encouraged interest in the dollar.

Sterling changed hands at $1.5822 from $1.5807 the previous session and gained against the euro as investors digested an upbeat report on the UK services sector. The data soothed fears about the UK falling back into recession.


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