The USD was relatively unchanged ahead of the official government jobs numbers. The numbers are expected to show that the economy added 181K, which will be higher than the 179K added in March. On Wednesday, data from ADP showed the NFP at 275K. The private non-farm payrolls are expected to decline slightly to 179K while the unemployment rate is expected to remain unchanged at 3.8%. The participation rate is expected to decline slightly to 62.9% from the previous 63%, while wages are expected to increase by 3.3%. The average hourly week is expected to remain at 34.5. Investors will also watch out for the ISM manufacturing PMI, which is expected to show an increase of 57.2.
The Australian dollar was relatively unmoved after a series of weak economic data. Today, data showed that the services PMI in April rose to 50.1, which was slightly lower than the expected 50.5. This was lower than the previous month’s 49.3. In March, building approvals contracted by -15.5%, which was worse than the expected contraction of -12.5%. In February, the approvals had jumped by 19.1%. The private house approvals declined by minis 3.2%. The housing sector in Australia is going through a challenging period as house prices fall in most places.
Investors will also focus on the European Union, as the region is expected to release CPI data. In April, the headline CPI is expected to have risen by 1.6%, which will be higher than the previous 1.4%. The core CPI, which excludes the volatile food and energy products, is expected to have risen by 1.0%, higher than the previous 0.8%. The PPI, which measures the change in price of goods sold by companies, is expected to have remained unchanged at 3.0%.
EUR/USD
The EUR/USD pair remained relatively unchanged in the Asian session. It is now trading at 1.1173, which is slightly below the middle line of the Bollinger Bands. The accumulation/distribution indicator has moved slightly lower while the price is slightly above the 23.6% Fibonacci Retracement level. There is a likelihood that the price will remain relatively unchanged ahead of the jobs numbers. It will then move sharply in either direction, with potential areas being the 1.1200 and 1.1100.
AUD/USD
The AUD/USD pair remained along the important support shown below. The pair is trading at 0.6998, which is slightly below the support of 0.7000. On the hourly chart, this price is slightly below the 25-day and 50-day moving averages, while the RSI has risen to almost 50. The accumulation/distribution has started moving upwards. There is a likelihood that the price will remain along these levels ahead of the NFP data.
GBP/USD
The GBP/USD pair rose slightly to a high of 1.3038 ahead of the important construction PMI data. The pair’s price is slightly along the middle line of the Bollinger Bands. The volumes indicator has reduced while the signal line of the MACD has started moving higher. The pair could still retest the 1.3000 level.
