Forexpros – The dollar was steady against the world’s major currencies on Tuesday, limping on concerns that dismal U.S. jobs figures will prompt the Federal Reserve to weaken the greenback in exchange for price stability and increased hiring.

The euro rose against the dollar in Asian trading Tuesday, with EUR/USD rising 0.04% and trading at 1.3111.

Gloomy jobs data hit the wire in the U.S. last Friday when the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported the economy added a net 120,000 nonfarm payrolls in March, well below the range of most market expectations.

The government revised February’s payrolls to 240,000 from 227,000 but cut January’s figure by 9,000 to 275,000.

The numbers fueled sentiment that the Federal Reserve may consider stimulating the economy by buying assets held by banks, known as quantitative easing, under which the Fed pumps liquidity into the economy in a way that weakens the dollar in exchange for increased job creation.

Many markets were closed both Friday and Monday, but by early Asian trading on Tuesday, investors were taking positions that while the Fed won’t likely roll out new easing measures over one poor jobs report, further disappointing indicators could up the chances of such a scenario playing out.

The greenback saw some support when Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke appeared in public in the U.S. on Monday and avoided talking too much on monetary policy.

More Fed officials are set to speak in public later this week, and markets will look for hints for a change of policy at the U.S. central bank.

The dollar did gain against the yen on anticipation Japanese monetary policy officials will take their own steps to weaken Japan’s currency, whose strength has been hurting exporters.

The greenback, meanwhile, was down against the pound, with GBP/USD up 0.08% and trading at 1.5903.

The greenback was up against the yen, with USD/JPY trading up 0.39% at 81.81, and down against the Swiss franc, with USD/CHF trading down 0.04% at 0.9168.

The greenback was mixed against its cousins in Canada, Australia and New Zealand, with USD/CAD down 0.13% at 0.9964, AUD/USD down 0.05% at 1.0308 and NZD/USD down 0.25% at 0.8196.

The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was down 0.02% at 79.95.

Later Tuesday, Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas President Richard Fisher is due to speak, and markets will await clues suggesting plans to change or stick with current policies.

Forexpros
Forexpros