Gold prices remained under pressure after the positive American initial jobless claims numbers. The data showed that the number of Americans filing for initial jobless claims numbers dropped to 340k last week. This was the lowest level since covid-19 started and is a sign that the labour market is tightening. The data came a day after another report by the Bureau of Labour Statistics (BLS) showed that the number of vacancies in the country rose to more than 10.98 million in August even as hiring slowed. With inflation at substantial highs, there is a likelihood that the Federal Reserve will start winding down its asset purchases program.
The British pound rallied in the overnight session as investors waited for the upcoming UK GDP data. The numbers, to be released in the morning session, will likely show that the country’s economy made a modest recovery in July as the country reopened. Still, the impact of the Delta variant will likely affect the overall recovery. Other numbers the ONS will publish are the industrial, manufacturing, and construction output. It will also release the latest trade balance numbers. Still, these numbers will likely have a minimal impact on the Bank of England (BOE), which is set to start tapering in the fourth quarter.
The USDCAD pair declined ahead of the important Canadian jobs numbers. Economists expect these numbers to show that the country’s economy added more than 100k jobs in August after adding a modest 94k in the previous month. The unemployment rate will likely drop to 7.3%, which is slightly below the previous 7.5%. These numbers will come two days after the Bank of Canada left interest rates unchanged and sounded cautious about the recovery. Also, the jobs number come a few weeks ahead of the Canadian election.
USDCAD
The USDCAD pair declined ahead of the upcoming Canadian jobs data. The pair dropped to 1.2626, which was slightly below this week’s high of 1.2675. On the four-hour chart, the pair is at the same level as the 25-day and 15-day moving averages. It is also below the right shoulder of the head and shoulders pattern while the Relative Strength Index (RSI) has moved below the overbought level. Therefore, the pair will likely remain under pressure ahead of the Canadian jobs and American PPI data.
GBPUSD
The GBPUSD pair maintained a bullish momentum ahead of the upcoming UK GDP data. It is trading at 1.3847, which is slightly below the intraday high of 1.3862. On the 30-minute chart, the pair is at an important level since this price is along the highest level since Tuesday. The bullish trend is supported by the 25-day moving average while the RSI and MACD have kept the momentum going on. Therefore, there is a likelihood that the pair will rise above 1.3900 after the GDP numbers.
USDJPY
The USDJPY downward trend continued after strong Japanese GDP data. The pair dropped to 109.65, which was the lowest level since September 6. On the hourly chart, the pair’s downward trend is being supported by the short and longer-term moving averages. It is also along the lower line of the Bollinger Bands while the DeMarker indicator has fallen to the lowest level in months. Therefore, the path of the least resistance for today will be lower.
