The yen dipped in Asian trade on Thursday as the market geared up for a deluge of US data that could back expectations for the Federal Reserve to lift interest rates and briefly steal the spotlight from the Greece’s debt crisis.
The data, from durable goods to non-farm payrolls, will be released later in the global day, with US markers closed on Friday for the July 4 Independence Day.
Heralding the key payrolls data, the ADP National Employment Report on Wednesday showed private employers added 237,000 jobs in June, the biggest gain since December and ahead of the 218,000 forecast.
“The NFP numbers brought the conversation back to the normal market talk,’’ said Bart Wakabayashi, head of foreign exchange for State Street Global Markets in Tokyo. “There is now more of a focus on the Fed again, while people wait to see what happens with Greece later on.’’
Referendum on bailout deal
Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras had on Wednesday urged Greeks to reject an international bailout deal, souring hopes of any breakthrough as markets looked ahead to Sunday’s referendum that might decide Greece’s future in the euro zone.
An opinion poll showed opposition to the bailout leading but, the gap has narrowed significantly as voters were confronted with the hardship resulting from the bank closure and capital controls.
Dollar vs yen
Against the yen, the greenback fetched 123.34, up 0.2 per cent on the day and pulling further away from a five-week trough of 121.93 hit on Tuesday.
The euro rose about 0.3 per cent on the day to 136.56 yen, and also added about 0.2 per cent to $1.1072.
The dollar index edged down about 0.1 per cent to 96.178, giving back some of its 0.8 per cent gain on Wednesday.
Dollar vs kiwi
The dollar notched up solid gains against commodity currencies, particularly the New Zealand dollar. The kiwi skidded below 67 US cents for the first time in five years as a slide in dairy prices narrowed the odds on more rate cuts.
It fell as far as $0.6694, and was last down about 0.5 per cent on the day at $0.6703.
Also under fire, the Canadian dollar slid to its lowest in over two months at C$1.2598 per US dollar in thin holiday trade on Wednesday, and came within a whisker of that level on Thursday. Canadian markets were closed on Wednesday for a public holiday.
The loonie was already in sellers’ crosshairs after the Canadian economy unexpectedly shrank in April.
Data on Tuesday showed gross domestic product fell 0.1 per cent from March, confounding forecasts for a gain of 0.1 per cent.
The fourth consecutive monthly decrease bodes poorly for a second-quarter pick-up in growth that the Bank of Canada had expected.