Forex Today: US Dollar holds near multi-year highs ahead of key jobs report
Here is what you need to know on Friday, January 10:
Following Thursday's quiet action in financial markets, the US Dollar (USD) stays resilient against its major rivals in the European morning on Friday. In the early American session, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics will release the jobs report for December, which will feature Nonfarm Payrolls (NFP), Unemployment Rate and wage inflation figures.
US Dollar PRICE This week
The table below shows the percentage change of US Dollar (USD) against listed major currencies this week. US Dollar was the strongest against the British Pound.
| USD | EUR | GBP | JPY | CAD | AUD | NZD | CHF | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| USD | 0.20% | 1.10% | 0.71% | -0.27% | 0.36% | 0.47% | 0.30% | |
| EUR | -0.20% | 0.89% | 0.49% | -0.42% | 0.20% | 0.31% | 0.14% | |
| GBP | -1.10% | -0.89% | -0.39% | -1.30% | -0.69% | -0.58% | -0.75% | |
| JPY | -0.71% | -0.49% | 0.39% | -0.98% | -0.33% | -0.21% | -0.19% | |
| CAD | 0.27% | 0.42% | 1.30% | 0.98% | 0.56% | 0.70% | 0.56% | |
| AUD | -0.36% | -0.20% | 0.69% | 0.33% | -0.56% | 0.11% | -0.06% | |
| NZD | -0.47% | -0.31% | 0.58% | 0.21% | -0.70% | -0.11% | -0.17% | |
| CHF | -0.30% | -0.14% | 0.75% | 0.19% | -0.56% | 0.06% | 0.17% |
The heat map shows percentage changes of major currencies against each other. The base currency is picked from the left column, while the quote currency is picked from the top row. For example, if you pick the US Dollar from the left column and move along the horizontal line to the Japanese Yen, the percentage change displayed in the box will represent USD (base)/JPY (quote).
After closing in positive territory on Tuesday and Wednesday, the USD Index registered small gains on Thursday as trading conditions remained thin, with US stock markets closing in observance of a national day of mourning to honor the death of former President Jimmy Carter. Early Friday, the index stays in positive territory and remains within a touching distance of the 25-month high it touched at 109.53 on January 2nd. Markets expect NFP to rise by 160,000 in December following the 227,000 increase recorded in November. The Unemployment Rate is forecast to remain unchanged at 4.2%.
USD/CAD closed marginally higher on Thursday and was last seen trading above 1.4400. Statistics Canada will also release employment data for December on Friday.
EUR/USD failed to stage a rebound on Thursday but its losses were limited. Early Friday, the pair stays under modest bearish pressure and trades below 1.0300.
GBP/USD dropped to its weakest level since November 2023 below 1.2250 on Thursday as the selloff in UK gilts continued. With gilt yields correcting lower, the pair managed to erase a portion of its daily losses in the second half of the day. In the European morning on Friday, GBP/USD stays on the back foot and trades in the red below 1.2300.
USD/JPY closed marginally lower on Thursday. The pair stays relatively quiet on Friday and fluctuates in a narrow channel above 158.00.
Gold closed the third consecutive trading day in positive territory on Thursday. XAU/USD continues to edge higher in the European morning and trades at its strongest level in nearly a month above $2,670.
Nonfarm Payrolls FAQs
Nonfarm Payrolls (NFP) are part of the US Bureau of Labor Statistics monthly jobs report. The Nonfarm Payrolls component specifically measures the change in the number of people employed in the US during the previous month, excluding the farming industry.
The Nonfarm Payrolls figure can influence the decisions of the Federal Reserve by providing a measure of how successfully the Fed is meeting its mandate of fostering full employment and 2% inflation. A relatively high NFP figure means more people are in employment, earning more money and therefore probably spending more. A relatively low Nonfarm Payrolls’ result, on the either hand, could mean people are struggling to find work. The Fed will typically raise interest rates to combat high inflation triggered by low unemployment, and lower them to stimulate a stagnant labor market.
Nonfarm Payrolls generally have a positive correlation with the US Dollar. This means when payrolls’ figures come out higher-than-expected the USD tends to rally and vice versa when they are lower. NFPs influence the US Dollar by virtue of their impact on inflation, monetary policy expectations and interest rates. A higher NFP usually means the Federal Reserve will be more tight in its monetary policy, supporting the USD.
Nonfarm Payrolls are generally negatively-correlated with the price of Gold. This means a higher-than-expected payrolls’ figure will have a depressing effect on the Gold price and vice versa. Higher NFP generally has a positive effect on the value of the USD, and like most major commodities Gold is priced in US Dollars. If the USD gains in value, therefore, it requires less Dollars to buy an ounce of Gold. Also, higher interest rates (typically helped higher NFPs) also lessen the attractiveness of Gold as an investment compared to staying in cash, where the money will at least earn interest.
Nonfarm Payrolls is only one component within a bigger jobs report and it can be overshadowed by the other components. At times, when NFP come out higher-than-forecast, but the Average Weekly Earnings is lower than expected, the market has ignored the potentially inflationary effect of the headline result and interpreted the fall in earnings as deflationary. The Participation Rate and the Average Weekly Hours components can also influence the market reaction, but only in seldom events like the “Great Resignation” or the Global Financial Crisis.
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