By Rae Wee
SINGAPORE (Reuters) – The dollar held near an almost one-month high on Friday, after U.S. economic data highlighted a still-tight labour market that could keep the Federal Reserve on its aggressive rate hike path.
The number of Americans filing new claims for jobless benefits dropped to a three-month low last week while layoffs fell 43% in December, data on Thursday showed.
A separate report also revealed that private employment increased by 235,000 jobs last month, far exceeding expectations for a 150,000 increase.
Against a basket of currencies, the U.S. dollar index jumped 0.9% to a nearly one-month peak of 105.27 overnight. It was last 0.03% higher at 105.15, and was on track for a weekly gain of more than 1.5%, the largest since September.
“All the anecdotes about job losses from the tech sector has yet to be reflected in the overall employment data, this suggests that while there’s weakness in some pockets…there’s…
