TOKYO (Reuters) -The dollar steadied against major peers on Friday, with currency moves muted as investors awaited the U.S. jobs report to confirm economic resiliency heading into the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy meeting and a close-call U.S. presidential election next week.
The U.S. dollar started the month not far off a one-week low after coming under pressure against the yen and on Thursday.
But the greenback saw its biggest monthly gains in just over two-years in October, as investors pared back aggressive Fed rate cut bets and weighed the U.S. election outlook.
U.S. nonfarm payrolls data closes out the week, with economists polled by Reuters estimating 113,000 jobs were added in October, although analysts say the number could be impacted by recent hurricanes.
Headline numbers could easily miss estimates as a result, although a sustained market reaction should be limited, said Sean Callow, senior FX analyst at InTouch Capital Markets.
Analysts said the unemployment rate will likely give a better read on the overall health of the labour market. It’s expected to come in at 4.1%.
“So long as it remains below 4.3%, pricing for the Fed funds rate shouldn’t change much from (a 25 basis point cut) next week and likely another 25bp in Dec,” said Callow.
The dollar index, which measures the greenback against six major currencies, last rose 0.09% to 103.97.
The yen gave up some of Thursday’s gains, sliding 0.31% to 152.49 per dollar as domestic traders grew cautious ahead of a three-day weekend in Japan amid big risk events.
