The US dollar weakens in anticipation of US employment data due later today. It is expected that the US employers increased payrolls by 140,000 in January. Previous number from December showed a 200,000 increase reflecting a easing down of the employment growth.
The euro remains stable since yesterday but may well close the week lower than it started as Greece and its creditors struggle to complete a deal. Private creditors have agreed to lower their demands for an average interest on the new debt but would want a stronger public sector support also. Meanwhile certain leaders in Europe consider that Greece is not doing as much as necessary to push reforms forward. Finance ministers of Germany, Netherlands, Luxembourg, and Finland, all with AAA ratings, will meet today in Berlin. Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker said Greek bond-swap talks with private creditors are “ultra difficult,” and the steps to tackle the debt crisis adopted at the January 30 summit were “largely insufficient.”
Japan’s Finance Minister once again signaled that the government may intervene in the forex market to weaken the Japanese yen. He said he will take decisive steps against one-sided moves in the yen if necessary as in his opinion the yen’s strength doesn’t reflect economic fundamentals. Two large Japanese companies, Sharp and Panasonic, posted record losses. The strength of the yen has clearly been hurting Japanese exports.
