Dollar Trades Mixed Ahead of Unemployment Report
The US dollar was mixed against its major trading partners early Thursday ahead of the release of data on personal income, spending and the closely-watched PCE price measures including the unemployment report scheduled for release.
Other highlights for Thursday include weekly initial jobless claims, regional conditions day from Chicago, and weekly natural gas stocks. New York Federal Reserve Bank President John Williams speaks today.
Earlier Thursday, Challenger, Gray and Christmas reported that layoff intentions rose in February as businesses were more confident in their ability to find workers.
Markets are looking ahead to Friday’s employment report for March, which is expected to show slower payrolls growth after a 678,000 jobs surge in February and a further dip in the unemployment rate.
A quick summary of foreign exchange activity heading into Thursday shows that USD-CAD rose to 1.2524 from 1.2482 at the Wednesday US close and 1.2480 a day earlier. Canadian gross domestic product growth is scheduled to be released at 8:30 am ET.
The Bank of Canada is expected to tighten further at its next policy announcement April 13, possibly by 50-basis points.
USD-JPY fell to 121.7508 from 121.8305 at the Wednesday US close and 121.8917 a day earlier. Japanese industrial production turned positive in February after declines in the previous two months, data released overnight showed.
The Bank of Japan has acted over the last week to defend its ultra-low interest rate cap by buying bonds, the opposite of other central banks that have begun monetary policy tightening. READ: Dollar Trades Mixed Ahead of FOMC Meeting
EUR-USD fell to 1.1105 from 1.1159 at the Wednesday US close and from 1.1134 at the same point a day earlier.
The EU unemployment rate declined in February from January according to data released earlier Thursday, though the decline was smaller than expected. The unemployment rate in Germany held steady, while retail sales beat estimates.
Data from France showed stronger consumer spending in February and accelerated inflation in March. The situation in Ukraine will be offset to strong inflation in the EU when the European Central Bank meets on April 14.
GBP-USD fell modestly to 1.3133 from 1.3136 at the Wednesday US close and from 1.3151 a day earlier. UK GDP was revised slightly higher for Q4, putting it further ahead of Q3 growth, data released earlier Thursday showed. The Bank of England is expected to raise interest rates further at its May meeting. #Dollar Trades Mixed Ahead of Unemployment Report
