Dollar Edges Up as Participants Await The Release of U.S. Employment Data
NEW YORK -- The dollar finished slightly higher yesterday following its sharp descent Wednesday.</br></br>Participants are awaiting today's release of U.S. employment data for June, the first major indicator of economic activity in the month, foreign exchange traders said.</br></br>They warned that the employment figures hold a greater potential for damaging the dollar further than for prompting a recovery.</br></br>The market remains preoccupied by the likelihood of easing U.S. interest rates, traders said. Slower than expected job growth will reinforce suspicions that the U.S. Federal Reserve will loosen credit, they said, but a pick-up in job activity won't eliminate those suspicions.</br></br>"If you're a betting man, you've got to say the dollar is going lower," said Robert Ryan, manager of foreign exchange at Irving Trust Co. in New York.