On Friday the greenback weakened versus the yen and euro during Asia trade, as investors were digesting U.S. GDP data while waiting for a fresh series of U.S. economic data from an index of U.S. April-June employment costs out later in the day to July jobs data scheduled for release next week.
Friday saw the greenback at ¥124.12, slightly lower from the level hit late Thursday in New York.
The U.S. currency also fell against the euro, which edged up to $1.0958 midday from $1.0930 in New York overnight.
Having failed to test its upside overnight after the release of U.S. GDP data, the greenback was biased downward during Asia trade, weighed down by dollar selling linked to Japanese exporters’ commercial trade settlements at the end of the week and month.
A day earlier, the Commerce Department said in a report that U.S. gross domestic product grew at an annual rate of 2.3% in the three months to June. First quarter growth was revised up to 0.6% from a previously reported contraction of 0.2%.
While analysts had forecast growth of 2.6%, the report still signaled that the economy is on a solid footing spurring renewed expectations for September rate hike.
“The market still hasn’t fully factored in a September rate hike,” said Shinichiro Kadota, vice president of research at Barclays in Tokyo. That means there is scope for upside movement, but investors need a full set of strong data before they can fully embrace the likelihood of a September increase, he said.
Separately, the U.S. Department of Labor reported that the number of individuals filing for initial jobless benefits in the week ending July 25 rose by 12,000 to 267,000 from the previous week’s total of 255,000. Economists had expected initial jobless claims to rise by 15,000 to 270,000 last week.
