INSTANT VIEW-Investors react to Kugler's resignation, firing of  BLS commissioner

Aug 1 (Reuters) - The Federal Reserve said on Friday that Governor Adriana Kugler was resigning from the central bank effective Aug. 8.

Separately, U.S President Donald Trump ordered that the commissioner of the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Erika L. McEntarfer, be fired after data showed employment growth was weaker than expected last month.

COMMENTS:

PETER CARDILLO, CHIEF MARKET ECONOMIST, SPARTAN CAPITAL SECURITIES, NEW YORK

"Obviously, (Adriana's resignation) is a negative, and that'll probably continue to pressure the dollar. That's not a good sign, when someone resigns, unless there is a personal reason, there is always a question mark as to why. So the unknown factor of that usually adds to uncertainties.

"Of course, you had a major revision in the employment numbers so it's a fact that Trump fired the Commissioner of Labour Statistics, basically questioning the accuracy of these numbers because of that huge revision that we had. So, anytime something like this happens, it always raises uncertainties."

CHRISTOPHER HODGE, CHIEF US ECONOMIST, NATIXIS ,NEW YORK:

“The interim BLS Chief looks to be an accomplished technocrat, which is a great sign. Going forward, should the fidelity of the data be compromised, this would place the markets and Fed in a very precarious position. I would expect the Fed to rely more and more on the anecdotes it collects from the Beige Book. Her (Adriana Kugler’s ) term was set to expire in January, so no great change in policy. I have not seen an indication that she is resigning in protest, but the timing is very curious”

JODY CALEMINE, DIRECTOR OF ADVOCACY, AFL-CIO, WASHINGTON, D.C.

“Today was probably the last reliable jobs report we will ever see. This isn’t good for anybody looking to see what’s going on with the economy, not just for workers but for the business community in general.”

“This morning’s jobs report was showing what was the first indicators of probably a coming recession…it’s clear he fired her (McEntarfer) for issuing a jobs report he just didn’t like.”

On Kugler: “The Fed board should be independent of the president, that’s for sure. He (Trump) is wielding increasingly authoritarian control over different agencies, and clearly he wants to wield that control over the Fed. The markets have kept that impulse in check so far. He’s increasingly out of control.”

JUAN PEREZ, SENIOR DIRECTOR OF TRADING, MONEX USA, WASHINGTON:

"The way (the market) is going to interpret (the departures) is in a very dollar-negative way."

"No matter what the economic picture in the United States, the one thing that holds the U.S. dollar strong in the eyes of the world is the authority and the independence of the Federal Reserve. Whenever anything comes to potentially put that into compromise then that's when the U.S. dollar spirals down."

PETER TUZ, PRESIDENT OF CHASE INVESTMENT COUNSEL IN CHARLOTTESVILLE, VIRGINIA

"There will be an opening for the Trump administration to fill. It's likely he will choose somebody whose views on interest rates match his own. Then Treasury Secretary Bessent wants to have a list of possible replacements for the Fed Chair by the end of the year so, Trump is getting a bigger chance to appoint people whose views match his own."

Regarding Trump's order to fire Erika L. McEntarfe, he said: "I don't like to see a bureaucrat fired just because the data that gets presented doesn't support the administration's policies. We have a president who believes the economy is strong and that interest rates should be cut . I have read nothing that suggests she was not doing a good job or conscientious. It's upsetting. We're killing the messenger here instead of trying to see what the data really says and go from there. I see no evidence that the numbers were ever manipulated. It wouldn't be big news today if it happened a lot. Certainly, it's unusual."