On Wednesday, the US dollar was lower after data showed employers added 818K fewer jobs in the year up to Mar. 2024 than previously reported, although the likelihood of the Federal Reserve making a bigger rate cut in Sept. changed little.
ForexLive’s chief currency analyst, Adam Button, said the economy grew at a good clip, company profits were fine, and it was a year of strong economic growth for the year that ended in March. Although employment may be slightly weaker, but it doesn’t say anything about the current trend.
The odds of the Fed cutting rates at its September meeting were little changed after the jobs release. According to the CME Group’s FedWatch Tool, traders are pricing in a 33% chance of a 0.5% cut and a 67% probability of a 0.25% reduction.
The fewer-than-expected jobs added in July and the unexpected rise in the unemployment rate resulted in traders pricing for bigger rate cuts on worries that the US is facing a recession.
Those fears were eased by better data, including higher-than-expected shelter inflation for the month and a strong retail sales report for July.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures its strength against 6 other major currencies, was last 0.01% lower at 101.37. The EURO dropped 0.03% to $1.1127.
