EUR/USD
EUR/USD trades around 1.1560 on Friday at the time of writing, down 0.40% on the day after briefly rebounding toward 1.1590 following the release of the latest United States (US) labor market data.
The Nonfarm Payrolls (NFP) report published by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics showed that employment declined by 92K jobs in February, sharply missing expectations for an increase of 59K. The previous month’s figure was also revised slightly lower to 126K. At the same time, the Unemployment Rate rose to 4.4% from 4.3%, while the Labor Force Participation Rate edged down to 62%. However, wage dynamics remained relatively firm, with Average Hourly Earnings increasing by 0.4% MoM and 3.8% YoY.
GBP/USD
The British Pound (GBP) struggles for direction against the US Dollar (USD) on Friday, with GBP/USD consolidating after a short-lived spike following weaker-than-expected US labor market data. At the time of writing, the pair is trading around 1.3362, on course for a third straight weekly decline.
USD/JPY
USD/JPY extends its gains for the second successive session, trading around 157.60 during the European hours on Friday. On the daily chart, technical analysis indicates a persistent bullish bias as the pair remains within the ascending channel pattern.
AUD/USD
AUD/USD fell about 1% on Thursday, wrapping the day up near the 0.7010 level after testing below the key 0.7000 handle intraday. The pair has now pulled back sharply from Tuesday’s bounce, with two consecutive bearish sessions erasing most of the week’s early gains. Price continues to chop within the roughly 150-pip consolidation band between 0.7000 and the year-to-date high close to 0.7150 that has defined the range since early February.
NZD/USD
NZD/USD trades lower near 0.5870 on Friday, down 0.54% on the day at the time of writing, as the US Dollar strengthens amid geopolitical tensions and investor caution ahead of the upcoming US labor market report.
The New Zealand Dollar (NZD) remains under pressure following the latest policy decision from the Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ), which kept its Official Cash Rate (OCR) unchanged at 2.25% at its February meeting. Governor Anna Breman adopted a cautious tone, indicating that monetary policy is likely to remain accommodative to support the economic recovery. As a result, markets have pushed expectations for the first rate hike back to later in the year.
USD/CAD
The USD/CAD pair trades in a tight range around 1.3660 during the European trading session on Friday. The Loonie pair consolidates as the US Dollar wobbles ahead of the United States (US) Nonfarm Payrolls (NFP) data for February, which will be published at 13:30 GMT.
USD/CHF
USD/CHF inches lower after registering 0.25% gains in the previous session, trading around 0.7810 during the Asian hours on Friday. The pair may recover as the US Dollar (USD) gains support from fading expectations for Federal Reserve (Fed) rate cuts amid surging Oil prices driven by the Middle East conflict. Additionally, Fed officials continue to consider the possibility of further rate hikes if inflation remains above target.
CRUDE OIL
The U.S. Treasury’s plan to address rising energy prices in the wake of the Iran conflict, including potential measures involving the oil futures market, remains under consideration but there is no immediate plan to announce anything for now, an administration official said on Friday.
Gold (XAU/USD) struggles to gain traction on Friday as weaker-than-expected US Nonfarm Payrolls (NFP) data did little to dent the strength of the US Dollar (USD), while rising US Treasury yields continue to weigh on the non-yielding metal.
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