US Dollar Rises Ahead of December Employment Data
The US dollar rose against its major trading partners early Friday, except for a decline versus the yen, ahead of the release of December employment data. Nonfarm payrolls are expected to rise by 165,000, with the unemployment rate seen remaining at 4.2%. Annual revisions to the household survey could alter the previous estimates of the unemployment rate.
Hourly earnings are expected to rise by 0.3% after a 0.4% gain in the previous month. The preliminary University of Michigan consumer sentiment index for January is set to be released, and the St. Louis Federal Reserve is expected to update its gross domestic product growth Nowcast estimate around midday.
A quick summary of foreign exchange activity heading into Friday showed USDEUR fell slightly to 1.0301 from 1.0302 at the Thursday US close but was up from 1.0300 at the same time Thursday morning. There are no Eurozone data on Friday’s schedule. The next European Central Bank meeting is scheduled for Jan. 30.
GBPUSD fell to 1.2303 from 1.2311 at the Thursday US close but was above a level of 1.2289 at the same time Thursday morning. There are no UK data on Friday’s schedule. The next Bank of England meeting is scheduled for Feb. 6.
USDJPY fell to 158.0103 from 158.1247 at the Thursday US close but was above a level of 157.9095 at the same time Thursday morning. Japanese consumer sentiment declined in January, while November household spending rose only modestly, and the Japanese leading index fell in the same month.
The next Bank of Japan meeting is scheduled for Jan. 23-24. USDCAD rose to 1.4408 from 1.4389 at the Thursday US close and 1.4396 at the same time Thursday morning.
Canadian employment data for December is due to be released at the same time as the US employment report. The next Bank of Canada meeting is scheduled for Jan. 29. #US Dollar Rises Ahead of December Employment Data Goldman Sachs, IFC Partner African Banks to Empower Women Entrepreneurs
