Euro stalls in Asia

The euro eased against the dollar on Friday, its bounce from the previous day's low stalling as investors braced for US jobs data, and was seen at risk of extending its recent slide against the resilient Australian dollar. The euro had touched a two month-low versus the Aussie dollar the previous day, as the currency extended its gains in the wake of data showing that Australian employment rose by more than expected in June.
"It looks as if both euro/Aussie and sterling/Aussie are resuming their downtrends," said Callum Henderson, global head of FX research with Standard Chartered Bank in Singapore. The euro dipped 0.2 percent to $1.4338, its bounce from Thursday's low of $1.4220 having stalled just below resistance at $1.4385, the base line on the daily Ichimoku chart, a popular technical analysis tool.
Against the Australian dollar, the euro dipped 0.2 percent to AU$1.3304, inching back in the direction of Thursday's trough of $AU1.3235, the lowest for the euro versus the Australian dollar since May 11. A Reuters survey conducted last week found that economists were looking for an increase of 90,000 US nonfarm jobs after May's meagre 54,000 gain, but many economists lifted their forecasts in the wake of the latest data to between 125,000 and 175,000 jobs.
The euro had gained against the dollar on Thursday after the European Central Bank offered to provide liquidity to hard-pressed Portugal regardless of its ratings, which were cut to junk status by Moody's this week. The ECB also signalled a further tightening was likely this year, after delivering a widely expected hike. The Australian dollar held steady at $1.0773. The Aussie faces resistance at its early July peak of $1.0790. There was talk of an option barrier at $1.0800 and stops above that level. The US dollar held steady against the yen at 81.28 yen, hovering near a five-week high of 81.419 yen hit on trading platform EBS on Thursday, when US Treasury yields climbed in the wake of the upbeat private-sector jobs report.