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Dollar Gains as Jobs Supports Fed Rate Rise, Soothes Volatility

 ©2015 Bloomberg News
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(Bloomberg) — The dollar held its gains after a stronger- than-expected U.S. jobs data strengthened market speculation that the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates next week.
The greenback advanced against the yen, Aussie and kiwi on Monday, after a report at the end of last week showed U.S. payrolls increased more than forecast. A gauge of the U.S. currency has risen more than 8 percent this year as the Fed signaled it was preparing to tighten monetary policy. The euro held declines after European Central Bank President Mario Draghi said on Friday the ECB can deploy more stimulus, if necessary, following the bank’s decision on Dec. 3 to expand monetary easing.
“There was nothing in the jobs data that will make the Fed question a liftoff, and markets will deepen their confidence that a rate hike is coming this month,” Toshiya Yamauchi, a senior analyst in Tokyo at Ueda Harlow Ltd., a margin-trading services provider, wrote in a note to clients.
The greenback rose 0.1 percent to 123.21 yen as of 8:40 a.m. in Tokyo on Monday. The euro was at $1.0886 from $1.0881 at the end of last week when it fell 0.5 percent, its biggest daily loss in two weeks. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose 0.4 percent on Friday for its biggest daily gain in a month after tumbling 1.4 percent the previous day.
The 211,000 increase in November payrolls followed a 298,000 gain in October that was bigger than previously estimated, Labor Department figures showed. The median forecast called for a 200,000 advance. The jobless rate held at 5 percent. The data soothed markets, with the JPMorgan Global FX Volatility Index showing that expectations for price swings slumped 2.5 percent on Friday to the lowest level in nearly four months.
Traders saw a 74 percent probability that the Fed will raise its benchmark rate at its next meeting, according to futures data compiled by Bloomberg. The calculation assumes the effective fed funds rate averages 0.375 percent after the first increase.
“There should be little doubt that barring some unforeseen exogenous shock, December is a go for lift-off,” economists including Tom Porcelli, chief U.S. economist at RBC Capital Markets LLC in New York, wrote in a note dated Dec. 7.
To contact the reporter on this story: Chikako Mogi in Tokyo at cmogi@bloomberg.net To contact the editors responsible for this story: Garfield Reynolds at greynolds1@bloomberg.net Jonathan Annells

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Men of Value Contributor

Men of Value Contributor

Articles by various contributors to Men of Value, an online magazine for American men who value our Judeo-Christian values of faith, family, and freedom.

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