U.S. Dollar Firmer Early Monday to Start 2022
U.S. Dollar

U.S. Dollar Firmer Early Monday to Start 2022

The US dollar was modestly higher against its major trading partners early Monday as business began to return to normal after the slow holiday period.

The week starts off slowly in the US with only the release of IHS Markit’s final read on December manufacturing conditions and the Census Bureau’s measure of November construction spending on the schedule.

Highlights for the rest of the week include the ISM manufacturing reading on Tuesday, ADP employment and FOMC meeting minutes on Wednesday, the ISM nonmanufacturing reading on Thursday and the December employment report on Friday.

Outside of data, the focus remains on rising COVID-19 cases, with the likelihood of a surge over the next few weeks as an after-effect to holiday gatherings.

A quick summary of foreign exchange action heading into Monday shows that EUR-USD fell slightly to 1.1353 from 1.137 at the Friday US close but was up from 1.1315 at the same point a week ago.

The Eurozone manufacturing PMI released earlier Monday declined to a 10-month low in December, with mixed readings for the country-specific measures. EU inflation data for December, scheduled for release on Friday, is the next key metric.

GBP-USD fell to 1.3512 from 1.3524 at the Friday US close but was up from 1.3407 at the same point a week ago. Markets are closed in the UK on Monday and there are no key data or events scheduled.

USD-CAD rose to 1.2684 from 1.2642 at the Friday US close but was below the 1.2832 level at the same point a week ago.

As with the US, the highlight of this week’s Canadian data schedule is the employment report for December due to release on Friday.

Analysts expect that a repeat of the extremely strong November gain of 154,000 jobs is unlikely. Markets are closed in Canada on Monday.

USD-JPY rose to 115.1226 from 115.0921 at the Friday US close and stands well above the 114.6681 level at the same point a week ago. Markets are also closed in Japan on Monday. # U.S. Dollar Firmer Early Monday to Start 2022

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