Moscow. July 8. INTERFAX.RU – The US dollar and the euro fell on the Moscow Exchange following the results of trading on Friday, the ruble strengthened against the dual-currency basket against the backdrop of steadily rising oil prices and in terms of profit-taking by market participants before the weekend.
The US dollar exchange rate was 60.92 rubles/$1 at 19:00 Moscow time, which is 1.03 rubles lower than the closing level of the previous trading. The euro cost 62.35 rubles/EUR1, depreciating by 1.25 rubles. The cost of the dual-currency basket ($0.55 and EUR0.45) decreased by 1.13 rubles to 61.56 rubles.
According to Interfax-CEA experts, the ruble rose against the dollar and the euro on the last trading day of the week as part of profit-taking before the weekend. On Friday, players’ attention was focused on US labor market statistics, as further actions of the Federal Reserve System (FRS) and, hence, the situation in the global economy largely depend on these data.
US labor market statistics
A significant increase in the number of jobs indicates a good situation in the country’s economy. At the same time, concerns about inflation are mounting as companies are forced to raise wages due to competition for a limited number of workers. This increases the likelihood that the Fed will not slow down the process of raising interest rates in the near future, writes The Wall Street Journal.
The number of jobs in the country’s economy increased by 372,000 in June, the labor ministry said. According to the revised data, in May the indicator increased by 384 thousand, and not by 390 thousand, as previously reported. Experts on average expected growth last month by 268 thousand, according to Trading Economics. Respondents to The Wall Street Journal predicted 250,000. Unemployment remained at 3.6% in May, as expected.