The U.S. Dollar is surging to new highs based on the weak Euro.
March 10, 2012- On Friday, the dollar jumped to a 10-month high on the jobs report released by the U.S. government. The jobs report was much better than most analysts had expected and helped the dollar jumped to its highest level against the yen in 10 months.
The dollar also increased against the euro as Fitch downgraded the debt in Greece. Private investors agreed to the restructuring plan offered by the country nevertheless, Greece was given the downgrade, sparking investors to buy U.S. dollars.
On Friday, the dollar increased to 82.52 Japanese yen, nearly a yen higher than Thursday. Its high on Friday was its highest since April of 2011. The jobs report said that over 227,000 jobs were added to the U.S. economy in February. Economists had predicted 210,000 jobs would be gained during last month. Unemployment remained steady at 8.3%.
Greece said just over 83% of the investors with its government bonds were taking part in the bond swap. Those investors have agreed to exchange their current bonds with ones that have a lower value and will provide a lower return. This restructuring was required so that Greece could receive another bailout worth $172 billion to avoid bankruptcy.
The bond swap caused Fitch ratings agency to downgrade the Greek debt to “restricted default.”
