The dollar fell in cautious trading on Monday, September 4, as investors evaluated the jobs data in the United States, which included signs of a slowdown, which reinforced expectations that the US Federal Reserve has likely reached the end of the monetary tightening cycle.
The dollar index, which measures the US currency against a basket of currencies, fell 0.048 percent to 104.18, but remained close to the two-month peak of 104.44 that it touched on August 25. The index rose 1.7% in August, ending a two-month losing streak.
With US markets closed on Monday, liquidity is likely to be weak and traders will be hesitant to make big bets.
Data published on Friday showed US job growth accelerated in August, but the unemployment rate jumped to 3.8% and wage increases slowed.
The yen rose 0.06% to $146.16. Since mid-August, the Asian currency has been trading around the psychologically important level of 145, with traders awaiting any indications of the possibility of authorities intervening to support the currency.
Japan intervened in currency markets last September when the dollar rose above 145 yen, prompting the Finance Ministry to buy yen and push the exchange rate to about 140 yen.
The euro rose 0.06% to $1.078, while the British pound reached $1.2602, rising 0.11% during the day.
The Australian dollar increased 0.2% to $0.6463 before the policy meeting that the US Federal Reserve will hold tomorrow, Tuesday, during which it is expected to maintain its policies. Regarding cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin rose 0.95% to $25,997.50 and Ethereum rose 0.67% to $1,638.30.
