The dollar rose to its highest in three months against the euro on Friday, galvanized by the wait-and-see message from the boss of the American Central Bank (Fed) Jerome Powell the day before.
At around 10:40 a.m. GMT (11:40 a.m. in Paris), the dollar gained 0.28% against the euro, at $ 1.1936 per euro, after reaching $ 1.1914, a high since early December, around 08:50 GMT.
Read also: The euro jumps against a dollar weakened by the Fed
The dollar index, which compares the US currency to other major currencies, also climbed to its three-month high.
"
We have no intention of raising interest rates until these conditions are met,
" Jerome Powell said Thursday, referring to the Fed's dual mandate of price stability and full employment.
"
If the Fed's message to the markets of + do what you want, we will not tighten our monetary policy for years + causes a stock market panic, the dollar will continue to rise,
" warns Kit Juckes, analyst at Societe Generale.
Currency traders will closely monitor the US unemployment figures released in the afternoon on Friday, with 200,000 creations expected against only 49,000 in January.
"
Too strong data, above 200,000 for example, could raise the inflation outlook, and wake up members of the Fed who want to raise rates,
" commented Ipek Ozkardeskaya, analyst at SwissQuote, who notes however that too bad data could also weigh on market morale.
"
In both cases, it should benefit the dollar,
" she explains, believing that "
the best case scenario for stocks at risk would be a report on employment that is neither too good nor too bad
".
