April,05(Agencies)—— US dollar stuck near two-month lows on Wednesday as weak economic data bolstered views that the Federal Reserve is near the end of its monetary tightening cycle.
Data overnight showed US job openings dropped to their lowest level in nearly two years in February, suggesting that labour market conditions were finally easing.
Job openings, a measure of labour demand, were down 632,000 to 9.9 million on the last day of February, the monthly Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, or JOLTS report, showed. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast 10.4 million openings.
The dollar index, which measures the currency against six peers, eased to a fresh two-month low of 101.43, after dropping 0.5% overnight.
The euro was up 0.12% to $1.0965, hovering near two-month peaks it touched on Tuesday.
Sterling was last trading at $1.2509, up 0.08% on the day, just shy of the ten month high it scaled on Tuesday.
The kiwi rose 0.08% to $0.632 ahead of a policy decision from Reserve Bank New Zealand later in the day.
The central bank is expected to slow the pace of monetary tightening, raising rates by just 25 basis points. Investors will be closely scrutinising the accompanying commentary for any hints of an end to its tightening cycle.
Rodrigo Catril, a senior currency strategist at currency strategist at National Australia Bank, said the decline in job openings confirms the softening in US labour demand, with further declines expected over coming months.
“Focus will turn to Friday’s key employment report, where the consensus is picking a further moderation in non-farm payrolls growth to 240K.” The softer-than-anticipated jobs data led to the markets tweaking its outlook for rate hikes.
Pakistan Rupee Exchange Rate