Forexpros –
Forexpros – The U.S. dollar moved lower against the Japanese yen in U.S. trade Friday,
as stagnant U.S. labor growth fueled further concerns of a slowdown in the world’s largest economy.
In mid-day U.S. trade, USD/JPY hit 76.97, the pair’s highest since Monday; the pair subsequently consolidated at 76.80, dropping 0.17%.
The pair was likely to find support at 75.97, the low of August 19, and resistance at 77.24, Thursday’s high.
Earlier Friday, the U.S. Labor Department reported that non-farm payrolls remained flat in August, after a revised 85,000 gain in July.
Market expectations were for non-farm payrolls to increase by 74,000 in August.
Unemployment held steady at 9.1% in August, mirroring the July figure and in line with economist’s forecasts, according to the Labor Department report.
“The number of unemployed persons, at 14 million, was essentially unchanged in August…Employment in most major industries changed little over the month,” the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics said in its report.
The White House’s Office of Management and Budget, on Thursday, forecast that unemployment would average 8.8% this year, down from an earlier estimate of 9.3%.
The office added that the federal budget deficit would fall to USD1.32 trillion in 2011, down from the USD1.64 trillion estimated in the 2012 fiscal budget.
In mid-day U.S. trade, Wall Street shares bounced from session lows but remained in the red for the Friday session. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.64% to 11,307.15, the Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 1.75% to 2,501.49, and the S&P 500 retreated 1.81%. to 1,182.73.
Meanwhile, the yen moved higher against the euro but down fractionally against the British pound with EUR/JPY down 0.59% to hit 109.04, and GBP/JPY adding 0.02% to hit 127.46.
U.S. market were to be closed next Monday for the Labor Day Holiday.
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