Dollar broadly lower, eyes on U.S. employment data
New York (June 5) The dollar was broadly lower against the other major currencies on Thursday, as fresh uncertainty over the strength of the U.S. job market weighed and investors eyed upcoming U.S. jobless claims data as well as Friday's report on nonfarm payrolls.
The dollar was lower against the euro, with EUR/USD up 0.10% to 1.3612.
Data on Thursday showed that retail sales in the euro zone rose 0.4% in April, more than the expected 0.1% uptick, after a 0.1% gain in March, whose figure was revised down from a previously estimated 0.3% increase
A separate report showed that German factory orders rose 3.1% in April, beating expectations for a 1.3% increase, after a 2.8% decline the previous month.
But sentiment on the euro remained vulnerable after data earlier in the week showed that the bloc's consumer price inflation stands well below the European Central Bank target of near but just under 2%, adding to expectations that the central bank will take steps to tackle low consumer price growth.
Meanwhile, market participants turned to Friday's report on U.S. nonfarm payrolls for further indications on the strength of the U.S. job market after a data on Wednesday showed that private sector jobs rose less than expected last month.
Payroll processing firm ADP said non-farm private employment rose by 179,000 in May, below expectations for an increase of 210,000. April's figure was revised down to a gain of 215,000 from a previously reported increase of 220,000.
The pound edged higher against the dollar, with GBP/USD adding 0.12% to 1.6758.
In a report, the Halifax Bank of Scotland said that U.K. house prices rose by 3.9% last month, exceeding expectations for a 0.7% gain, after a 0.3% fall in April, whose figure was revised from a previously estimated 0.2% slip.
The dollar was lower against the yen and the Swiss franc, with USD/JPY slipping 0.23% to 102.51 and with USD/CHF edging down 0.16% to 0.8957.
The greenback was steady to lower against the Australian, New Zealand and Canadian dollars, with AUD/USD up 0.09% to 0.9285, NZD/USD rising 0.22% to 0.8439 and USD/CAD dipping 0.03% to 1.0936.
In Australia, official data earlier showed that the trade balance swung into a deficit of A$0.12 billion in April, from a surplus of A$0.90 billion in March, whose figure was revised up from a previously estimated A$0.73 billion surplus.
Analysts had expected the trade surplus to narrow to A$0.40 billion in April.
The US Dollar Index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was down 0.11% to 80.62.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to publish the weekly report on initial jobless claims.
