The dollar remained on pause for a second day versus other majors Friday morning, ahead of the January's all-important jobs report. Leading a busy morning on the economic front, the Labor Department is set to release the monthly non-farm payrolls report at 8:30 am ET. Choppy trading left the dollar near $1.3150 versus the euro, as dealers largely ignored the latest economic figures from Europe.
The Euro zone private economy stabilized in January as initially estimated, final data from Markit Economics showed Friday. The final Markit Composite Output Index came in at 50.4 in January, up from 48.3 in December.
Eurozone retail sales declined unexpectedly in December as consumers were reluctant to spend even during the Christmas season, official data revealed Friday.
Retail sales were down 0.4 percent on a monthly basis in December, marking a second consecutive fall, while economists had expected a 0.3 percent rise. The decline for November was revised to 0.4 percent from 0.8 percent.
The dollar was slightly weaker at $1.5830 versus the sterling, near its lowest in two month.
The U.K. service sector expanded at the strongest pace in ten months in January, reviving hopes that the economy could avoid a recession and rebound in the first quarter of this year.
The latest survey by Markit Economics and the Chartered Institute of Purchasing & Supply revealed Friday that the headline business activity index rose to 56, the highest reading since March 2011, from 54 in December. Economists had forecast a decline to 53.3.
There was little movement near Y76 versus the yen, with traders expecting further intervention from Japanese authorities if the yen breaches its record high near Y75.
Previewing today's U.S. economic reports, economists expect non-farm payrolls for January to increase by 135,000, but they expect the unemployment rate to remain unchanged at 8.5 percent. In December, about 200,000 new jobs were added and the unemployment rate ticked down to 8.5 percent.
The Institute for Supply Management is scheduled to release the results of its non-manufacturing survey at 10 am ET. The non-manufacturing index is likely to show a reading of 53.3 for January after rising to 52.6 in December.
Additionally, the Commerce Department is due to release its report on factory goods orders for December at 10 am ET. Economists estimate a 1.5 percent increase in orders for factory goods after durable goods orders rose a better than expected 3 percent in the month.
by RTT Staff Writer
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