Dhaka, Bangladesh (BBN)– The U.S. dollar fell to a fresh 15-year low against the Japanese Yen (JPY) on Friday and weakened against major counterparts, after a report showed an unexpected drop in U.S. payrolls in September.
The U.S. September employment report on Friday exacerbated concerns over the economy, showing the labor market shrank for the fourth consecutive month, a weekly review report said.
However, USD edged higher against the Euro (EUR) on Tuesday on a short-covering bounce as investors awaited minutes from the Federal Reserve’s latest meeting for clues on the Central Bank’s stance toward purchasing more assets to stimulate the economy.
The EUR pared losses after European Central Bank Governing Council member Axel Weber said the ECB’s government bond-buying program has not worked and should be scrapped, and rallied sharply against the USD after minutes from the Federal Reserve’s latest meeting showed members felt further monetary easing could be appropriate before long.
The EUR surged to a more than eight-month high of USD 1.4123 on Thursday, and USD fell to a fresh 15-year low of 80.88 JPY, despite wariness about Japanese intervention, and looked set to challenge its record low of 79.75 hit in April 1995.
The Australian Dollar (AUD) soared to its strongest level since the currency was floated in 1983 to USD 0.9994, as investors dumped the U.S. currency on expectations the Federal Reserve would again start printing money next month.
The USD also hit the latest in a succession of record lows against the Swiss Franc (CHF) and slid below parity with the Canadian Dollar (CAD), a level not seen since April.
BBN/SSR/SI-17Oct10-1:55 pm (BST)
