USD weakens following Friday’s unemployment data
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Daily Currency Update
The US Dollar Index (DXY) trended slightly lower so far today near the 104.9 range amid mixed data releases. The latest non-farm payroll report from the US released on Friday exceeded expectations at 206,000 versus the expected 191,000. Non-farm payroll numbers reflect the number of workers in the US, excluding farm workers. The overall unemployment rate, however, went up from 4% to 4.1%. With this mixed bag of data releases the DXY ended the day down by about a quarter percent on Friday and continued to trend lower today as well. US Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell will be testifying before the House Financial Services Committee on Tuesday and Wednesday. Investors will be looking for cues about where interest rates are headed. Markets will also be eyeing the Consumer Price Index (CPI) and Producer Price Index (PPI) data releases later this week.Key Movers
In the Eurozone, France’s second round of parliamentary elections took place. The three major parties seemed to be left with an equal share in votes leaving quite a bit of uncertainty for the EUR. The EUR/USD pair dipped slightly this morning by around -0.03% to the 1.0834 level.Following the UK election where the Labor party took power from the Conservatives, the GBP/USD pair continued to rise to the 1.28311 level. Labor leader Sir Keir Starmer will assume office this week.
The Canadian dollar remained mostly flat against most major currencies so far today following Friday’s disappointing unemployment figures. Canadian unemployment figures released on Friday disappointed markets by losing 1,100 jobs as opposed to the predicted 20,000 job gain. The unemployment rate rose to 6.4% which was in line with the Bank of Canada’s (BoC) decision to drop interest rates at their last policy meeting and could signal more rate cuts in the future. In oil news, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil pulled back this morning to the $82.60 per barrel level, down by around -0.72%.
Expected Ranges
- EUR/USD: 1.08034 - 1.08451 ▼
- GBP/USD: 1.2793 - 1.2846 ▲
- AUD/USD: 0.67340 - 0.67610 ▼
- USD/CAD: 1.36240 - 1.36472 ▼