Dollar Set for Weekly Gains on Fed Taper Bets Before Jobs Report

Bloomberg (02/8) - The dollar headed for weekly gains against all its major peers as improvements in the U.S. economy added to the case for the Federal Reserve to slow the pace of bond purchases which tend to debase the currency. The greenback rebounded from the weakest in six weeks versus the euro before the Labor Department releases employment data for July. U.S. reports yesterday showed claims for jobless benefits fell to a five-year low and manufacturing expanded faster than analysts estimated. The dollar touched a one-week high against the yen. The U.S. currency was little changed at $1.3198 per euro at 10:12 a.m. in Tokyo from yesterday, when it rose 0.7 percent. It reached $1.3345 on July 31, the lowest since June 19. The dollar touched 99.67 yen, the strongest since July 25, before trading at 99.61, 0.1 percent higher than yesterday.