USD

The US dollar had a good run on Friday, as the non-farm payrolls report came in much stronger than expected. 

The economy added 321K jobs in November versus the projected 231K gain while the jobless rate held steady at 5.8%. Other labor components also showed improvements, as the average hourly earnings rate picked up by 0.4% while the participation rate held steady. There are no reports due from the US economy today as the dollar could stay supported in stronger ate hike expectations.

EUR

The euro gave up gains to the dollar but rallied against the Japanese yen last Friday, with medium-tier data from the region coming in strong. German factory orders showed a strong 2.5% gain versus the projected 0.6% uptick while the euro zone GDP was unchanged at 0.2%. Only the German industrial production report is due today and it might show a 0.2% gain.

GBP

The pound was in a weak spot on Friday as UK consumer inflation expectations sank from 2.8% to 2.5%, indicating that price pressures might slow down in the coming months. There are no major reports due from the UK today, which could leave pound pairs sensitive to risk sentiment.

CHF

The franc gave up its gains to the dollar last week, as SNB foreign currency reserves picked up from 460.6 billion CHF to 462.4 billion CHF, reviving talks of potential intervention in the currency market. So far, the data hasn’t shown any drastic franc selling but traders are sitting on the edge of their seats awaiting SNB action. Swiss CPI and retail sales figures are due today and weak data could force the central bank to act.

JPY

The yen gave up more ground to its counterparts as the revised GDP reading indicated a deeper contraction of 0.5% versus the initially reported 0.1% drop in growth. Japan’s current account was better than expected but this wasn’t enough to quash talks of further easing from the BOJ and downward pressure on the yen.

Commodity Currencies (AUD, NZD, CAD)

The comdolls edged lower as the dollar exerted its dominance in the forex market last Friday. Data from Canada was weaker than expected, with the economy chalking up a 10.7K drop in hiring for November and a weaker than expected trade balance. Earlier today, Australia reported a small uptick in ANZ job advertisements, which could mean more hiring gains for the country. Canadian building permits data is up for release later today.

By Kate Curtis from Trader’s Way