USD
The US dollar was able to rebound against most of its counterparts on Friday thanks to stronger than expected NFP results.
The report showed a 222K increase in hiring versus the projected 175K gain while the May reading was upgraded from 138K to 152K. The Fed labor market conditions index and the consumer credit report are up for release today.
EUR
The euro held on to its recent gains, buoyed by a less dovish ECB minutes that hinted at the possibility of tapering. Economic reports turned out mostly stronger than expected on Friday, led by German and French industrial production figures. Italian retail sales missed the mark but the French trade balance came in line with consensus. German trade balance and the euro zone Sentix investor confidence index are due today.
GBP
The pound took a sharp tumble when another batch of reports indicated a potential slowdown. Manufacturing production dropped by 0.2% versus the projected 0.5% uptick while industrial production slid by 0.1% instead of posting the expected 0.4% gain. There are no reports due from the UK economy today but the attention seems to be returning to Brexit talks and the UK government’s weakening position.
CHF
The franc had a strong start but gave up its gains later on in the day as safe-haven flows returned to the dollar. SNB foreign currency reserves actually ticked lower from 694 billion CHF to 693 billion CHF to signal that the central bank isn’t intervening in the currency market. There are no reports due from the Swiss economy today so market sentiment and currency-specific events could push franc pairs around.
JPY
The yen continued to slide lower against its peers, especially after the strong US NFP report revived dollar demand. Earlier today, Japanese core machinery orders and current account balance missed expectations, setting the tone for a potentially downbeat BOJ statement next week.
Commodity Currencies (AUD, NZD, CAD)
The comdolls had a mixed performance as they continued to advance versus the yen but dipped against the dollar. Canada also printed stronger than expected jobs data as employment rose by 45.3K versus 11.4K and the unemployment rate improved from 6.6% to 6.5%. Chinese CPI and PPI are due next.
By Kate Curtis from Trader’s Way
