Global Markets:
- Asian stock markets: Nikkei up 1.35 %, Shanghai Composite fell 0.05 %, Hang Seng declined 0.10 %, ASX 200 rose 0.55 %
- Commodities: Gold at $1198 (-0.45 %), Silver at $16.93 (-0.65 %), WTI Oil at $49.65 (+0.75 %), Brent Oil at $52.50 (+0.65 %)
- Rates: US 10 year yield at 2.62, UK 10 year yield at 1.23, German 10 year yield at 0.43
News & Data:
- Australia Home Loans (MoM) (Jan): 0.50% (est -1.00%, prev 0.40%)
- Asia stocks firm ahead of U.S. jobs, dollar vs yen at one-and-half-month high – RTRS
- Oil edges off three-month low, but glut worries fester – RTRS
- Dollar on track for winning week as U.S. jobs data awaited, euro firm – RTRS
Markets Update:
The US Dollar remains strong ahead of today’s NFP release. The market has increased its expectations for the number following the strong ADP employment change print.
EUR/USD recovered slightly after the ECB meeting. The central bank kept rates and the size of its QE programme unchanged, as expected, but Mario Draghi was slightly less dovish during his press conference. This helped the Euro to recover to 1.0620. In Asia, the pair consolidated in a 1.0570-1.06 range.
USD/JPY has cleared some important resistance levels and is on its way to test key resistance at 115.50. A major breakout is unlikely ahead of the NFP release. However, if the number is strong and it breaks above 115.50, it would signal that the rally can continue towards 117.
AUD/USD is still under pressure but support at 0.75 has held so far. Resistance is now seen at 0.7570/80, followed by 0.7630.
Upcoming Events:
- 07:00 GMT – German Trade Balance
- 09:30 GMT – UK Industrial Production
- 09:30 GMT – UK Manufacturing Production
- 09:30 GMT – UK Trade Balance
- 13:30 GMT – US Unemployment Rate
- 13:30 GMT – US NFP
- 13:30 GMT – US Average Hourly Earnings
- 13:30 GMT – Canadian Unemployment Rate
- 13:30 GMT – Canadian Employment Change
- 15:00 GMT – UK NIESR GDP Estimate
- 20:30 GMT – US CFTC Positioning Data
