USD

The US dollar initially had a strong positive reaction to upbeat NFP results, as the headline figure posted a gain of 313K versus the consensus at 205K. 

The earlier figure also enjoyed an upgrade from 200K to 239K while the unemployment rate was unchanged at 4.1%. Average hourly earnings also fell short with a 0.1% uptick versus the estimated 0.2% gain and the earlier 0.3% increase. US CPI, PPI, and retail sales figures are all up for release this week. 

EUR

The euro resumed its slide to most of its counterparts as bulls seemed disappointed over the lack of hawkishness in the ECB presser earlier in the week. Medium-tier data from its top-economies also turned out mostly weaker than expected ,with German and French industrial production falling short of estimates. There are no major reports due from the region today.

GBP

The pound also ended the week on shaky footing as the UK manufacturing production figure missed estimates. Only a meager 0.1% uptick was reported versus expectations of a 0.2% gain or the earlier 0.3% increase while industrial production also fell short with a 1.3% gain versus the 1.5% consensus. There are no major reports due from the UK economy today.

CHF

The franc gave up some ground to its peers on Friday as risk appetite extended its stay. The Swiss jobless rate also improved from 3.0% to 2.9% as expected. There are no reports due from the Swiss economy today so market sentiment could push franc pairs around. 

JPY

The yen also gave up some ground on Friday as the US dollar took most of the gains and risk appetite returned. There were no major changes to the BOJ’s monetary policy bias in their latest announcement but traders are wary of further easing. Preliminary machine tool orders data is due next.

Commodity Currencies (AUD, NZD, CAD)

The commodity currencies managed to score some gains on improved risk sentiment at the end of the week. Canada reported a smaller gain of 15.4K in hiring versus the estimated 21.3K increase. Only the food price index is due from New Zealand today.  

By Kate Curtis from Trader’s Way