Risk currencies slide
LONDON, March 5 (Reuters) - The dollar rose to multi-month highs against the euro, yen and Swiss franc on Friday after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell expressed no concern about a recent sell-off in bonds.
Speaking at a Wall Street Journal forum, Powell stuck to his stance of keeping interest rates low until the economy has recovered, adding that the sell-off in Treasuries was not “disorderly”.
The Swiss franc fell to a seven-month low of 0.93110 francs per dollar and was flat at 0.92765 by 1153 GMT. The euro slipped 0.3% to a three-month low of $1.19345.
“The U.S. dollar rose sharply higher post-Powell comments (as) many in the market I sense were looking for stronger rhetoric from the Fed to put a break on further rallies in yields,” said Neil Jones, head of FX sales at Mizuho Bank.
Oil prices jumped about 3% on Friday, hitting their highest levels in more than a year, following a stronger-than-expected U.S. jobs report and a decision by OPEC and its allies not to increase supply in April.
The Minnesota Court of Appeals ruled on Friday that a lower court must reconsider a third-degree murder charge against Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer who is due to go on trial next week for the death of George Floyd last May.
A gauge of global equity markets was little changed on Friday and Wall Street gave back some of its early gains as investors took stock of a report that at first blush showed faster-than-expected U.S. jobs growth but was also a reminder that the recovery will still take.