The U.S. dollar fell against the euro and Swiss franc for a second straight session on Thursday as data showed weakness in the U.S. labor market, increasing expectations of another rate cut this year.
Meanwhile, sterling rose after the Bank of England kept rates unchanged ahead of this month’s budget. The central bank had been expected to leave rates unchanged, although markets had attached a one-in-three chance of a cut earlier on.
U.S.-based employers cut more than 150,000 jobs in October, marking the biggest reduction for the month in more than 20 years, a report by Challenger, Gray & Christmas said on Thursday as industries adopt AI-driven changes and intensify cost cuts.
Economic data from private sources has drawn increased investor interest amid the absence of official data during the U.S. government’s longest-ever shutdown.