The U.S. dollar weakened on Friday, with investors cautious about pushing its recent rebound further ahead of key U.S. jobs data.
Despite this dip, the dollar remained on track for a weekly gain against nearly all major currencies.
The Australian and New Zealand dollars, sensitive to risk, strengthened during Asian trading as European and Asian stock markets continued a rally that began on Wall Street. The rally followed updates from China and Japan regarding trade talks with the U.S. government.
The dollar’s decline extended across several currencies, with the greenback down 0.45% against the Japanese yen, at 144.76, while the euro rose 0.35% to $1.1330. China’s offshore yuan also reached a near six-month high of 7.225 per dollar.
Despite these moves, the U.S. dollar is still set for its third consecutive weekly rise. This follows a rebound from steep declines in the previous month, driven by concerns over President Donald Trump’s tariff policies and their potential impact on the U.S. economy.
In a sign of potential easing of trade tensions, China’s Commerce Ministry stated on Friday that it was “evaluating” a proposal from Washington for trade talks. Meanwhile, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio indicated that discussions with China would soon take place.
As market participants await the release of the U.S. non-farm payrolls (NFP) report later on Friday, expectations are for 130,000 new jobs to have been added in April, down from 228,000 in March. Investors are looking for clues on when the Federal Reserve may resume cutting interest rates, though the payrolls data is not expected to provide a clear answer on the economic outlook.
