2014.07.0323:32:20UTC+00US dollar surges as jobs figures prod rate bets

The US dollar headed for its weekly acceleration against most of its Group of 10 peers as clues of a better US recuperation fueled speculation the Federal Reserve would move forward the timing of interest rate hikes.

The greenback traded close to a two-week peak versus the Japanese yen following nonfarm payrolls climbed while the unemployment rate plunged to a nearly six-year low. The US Labor Department figures yesterday showed employers accrued 288,000 workers in June.

“The payrolls report confirmed that from a macroeconomic perspective the U.S. economy is growing. Based on fundamentals, recent dollar buying should continue,” said Yasuhiro Kaizaki, a vice president for global markets in New York at Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank.

The greenback was slightly changed at ¥102.21 as of 8:56 a.m. in Tokyo from yesterday’s ¥102.27, the highest since June 18. It was unchanged at $1.3610 per euro. This week, the currency has ascended 0.8% against the yen and 0.3% against the euro.