Khaberni - The dollar fell on Friday, heading to record the largest losses in several weeks against other major currencies, as the uncertainty surrounding the American government shutdown clouded the outlook and led to the postponement of issuing key data, such as those concerning jobs which are crucial in understanding the economy’s direction.
The non-farm payroll report for the month of September was scheduled to be released on Friday, but it was not issued due to the government shutdown.
The yen also retreated from its largest weekly gains as traders awaited the next move by the Bank of Japan before the election of new leadership for the country at the beginning of next week.
The euro, meanwhile, rose 0.2% to 1.1739 dollars in post-noon trading, heading towards its best weekly performance in a month.
The euro gains pushed the dollar index, which measures the value of the American currency against a basket of other major currencies, down 0.1% to 97.77 points, heading the index to record its worst weekly performance since July.
“The shutdown essentially heightens concerns about the resilience of the American economy. We are moving almost blindly here, and we do not know what will happen," said Jayati Bharadwaj, a foreign exchange expert at TD Securities in New York.
She added, "The longer the shutdown lasts, people will start to worry about its impact on the economy. There are already concerns about some employees being laid off, or given temporary leave, which the government has tended to do, and all of this affects the dollar in the short term."
The dollar fell 0.3% to 0.7953 Swiss francs after declining 0.4% over the week, heading towards its worst weekly performance since mid-August.
The dollar fell against the British pound, which rose 0.2% to 1.3470 dollars, heading towards making its biggest weekly gain since August 11.
