The US dollar moved positively for the fifth consecutive day touching the 100 point mark, amid cautious sentiment in the market regarding the possibility of a US Federal Reserve (Fed) interest rate cut at the December meeting.
At 9.50 am, the US Dollar Index (DXY) was at 100.213 points, up 0.10% since it opened in early trading on Thursday in the Asian session.
Market players will now pay close attention to the release of the US Non-Farm Payrolls (NFP) data for September on Thursday after a long delay.
The US Initial Jobless Claims figure showed 232,000 people filed for the first time for state unemployment insurance in the week ending October 18.
Meanwhile, the Automatic Data Processing (ADP) report showed that employers cut 2,500 jobs per week on average for the four weeks ending November 1.
Richmond Fed President Thomas Barkin said on Tuesday that the labor market appears more balanced, with firms reporting improved labor availability and recent layoffs signaling a need for caution.
Barkin said inflation did not appear to be rising, but it was also unclear whether it would return to the Fed’s 2% target. He stressed that, without more solid data, it would be difficult to reach the consensus that has been targeted for so long.
Separately, US President Donald Trump said in an Oval Office interview on Tuesday that he was “interested” in firing Fed Chairman Jerome Powell immediately.
Trump added that he already had a preferred candidate in mind for the position, noting that there were some surprising names being considered.
