US dollar falls amid downbeat data, lower expectation on Fed rate hikes

New York,   The US dollar extended losses in late trading on Thursday, as a batch of negative economic data cast a poll over investors sentiment.

In late New York trading, the euro rose to $1.1374 from $1.1340 dollars in the previous session, and the British pound increased to $1.2776 from $1.2736 in the previous session. Xinhua news agency reported.

The Australian dollar decreased to $0.7222 from $0.7264.

The US dollar bought 112.64 Japanese yen, lower than 113.19 Japanese yen of the previous session. The US dollar was down to 0.9931 Swiss franc from 0.9978 Swiss franc, and it rose to 1.3392 Canadian dollars from 1.3384 Canadian dollars.

The 10-year US Treasury bond yield sank to 2.83 per cent on Thursday, extending its loss from above 3 per cent on Monday.

The yield is normally seen as a barometer for borrowing costs for both the public and private sector. Analysts said such a drop reflected investors’ fears of heightened market volatility and a possible economic slowdown.

Market expectations on further interest rate hikes at Fed’s December 18-19 meeting also waned, due to broad worries over a potential slowing economic growth caused by the inverted yield curve in US Treasury notes on Tuesday.

Investors expected no more than one rate hikes from the Fed in 2019, compared with the expectations a month earlier for possibly two rate hikes, according to CME Group’s FedWatch tool.

Besides, the US labour market weakened by slower-than-expected job growth in the private sector in November, piling concerns over the US economic growth.

Private-sector employment increased by 179,000 in November on a seasonally adjusted basis, felling short of the expected 195,000 new job posts, according to a report by ADP, an American provider of human resources management software and services.

Previous articleOil prices slide as Trump urges OPEC not to cut supply
Next articleKovind to dedicate houses built for Rohingya refugees in Myanmar