U.S. Dollar Surges with Robust Labor Data

The U.S. dollar surged against major currencies such as the yen and Swiss franc on Tuesday, bolstered by unexpectedly strong labor market figures. This development comes as data revealed a significant uptick in labor demand, casting doubt on a swift interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve.

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, speaking at a central banking conference in Portugal, confirmed the Fed's intention to wait for additional data before embarking on monetary policy easing. However, Powell did not entirely dismiss the possibility of initiating rate cuts as early as July.

According to the Labor Department, job openings increased by 374,000 to reach 7.769 million in May. Consequently, the dollar pared losses against the yen and Swiss franc, narrowing to a decrease of 0.33% and 0.09%, respectively. Meanwhile, the dollar index rose 0.09% to 96.84, reflecting the greenback's firm stance.

(With inputs from agencies.)