Dollar Remains Lower Versus Majors Before U.S. Jobs Data, ECB

By Candice Zachariahs and Mariko Ishikawa

March 6 (Bloomberg) -- The dollar remained lower after declining yesterday against most of its 16 major peers before a private jobs report in the U.S. forecast to show companies added positions in February.

Demand for the U.S. currency was limited before the Federal Reserve releases its Beige Book report. The euro was little changed against the yen for a third day before European Central Bank President Mario Draghi and his board meet tomorrow.

Speculation that central banks will continue stimulus helped spur the Dow Jones Industrial Average to a record in New York.Australia’s dollar was higher after gains yesterday ahead of a report forecast to show economic growth accelerated.

“The dollar is being sold in a risk-on trade,” said Kazuo Shirai, a trader at Union Bank NA in Los Angeles. “The Dow Average climbed to a record and Treasuries were sold. The market is waiting for the jobs report.”

The dollar traded at $1.3046 per euro as of 8:11 a.m. in Tokyo after falling 0.2 percent to $1.3052 in New York. It fetched 93.33 yen from 93.29 yesterday, when it weakened 0.2 percent. The euro was little changed at 121.77 yen.

U.S. companies took on more workers last month after adding the most jobs in almost a year in January, figures from the Roseland, New Jersey-based ADP Research Institute will probably show today.

U.S. Jobs

Firms added 170,000 positions in February, following a 192,000 increase the previous month, economists forecast in a Bloomberg News survey. The Labor Department will release its payrolls data on March 8.

The Swedish krona and New Zealand dollar have led gains this week among 10 developed nation currencies tracked by Bloomberg Correlation Weighted Indexes as optimism about growth in the world’s largest economy spurred demand for higher- yielding assets. The Dow closed at a record 14,253.77 yesterday.

The ECB will probably maintain its benchmark rate at 0.75 percent this week, according to a Bloomberg survey. The central bank will also update its December economic forecasts.

The euro area’s gross domestic product probably fell 0.6 percent in the fourth quarter from the previous three-month period, according to the median estimate of economists surveyed by Bloomberg before the data today.

Demand for Australia’s dollar was supported before the nation’s statistics bureau is predicted to say GDP expanded 0.6 percent in the fourth quarter, accelerating from a 0.5 percent pace in the previous three months.

The so-called Aussie fetched $1.0266 after gaining 0.6 percent to $1.0258 yesterday.