US dollar holds onto payrolls gains, NZ dollar rises after election

The US dollar stayed near recent highs against the euro and Australian dollar on Monday, after its strongest one-day advance in almost six months on Friday. Business Recorder reported that stronger US employment figures for October lifted expectations of higher interest rates, with futures putting the chance of a Federal Reserve increase on December 9 at about 79%, up from 71% a week earlier.

The New Zealand dollar rose 0.4% to $0.5557, recovering from a seven-month low as election results remained unsettled. Initial counts gave Prime Minister Christopher Luxon’s National Party and its partners 67 seats in a 131-seat parliament, but almost 400,000 ballots remain uncounted and official results are expected on November 27. The euro and Australian dollar also edged higher, while the yen and Canadian dollar strengthened against the US currency.