Dollar bulls appear set to take some time off following a run of sobering news on the health of the U.S. economy. In the latest sign that the U.S. economy fared sluggishly in the first quarter, job growth in March decelerated to the slowest pace in more than a year.
Unemployment steadied at a multiyear low of 5.5% and wages inched higher. The jobs report suggested that the Fed might wait longer than midyear to boost interest rates, which destabilized a pillar for the dollar.
Like the Fed, dollar sentiment too is likely to be data dependent. To keep the dollar on a longer run path higher, U.S. data would need to show renewed signs of life after the apparent loss of momentum over the opening quarter of the year.
