Forex Markets Go Cautious Ahead of US Jobs Data
Futures down 0.3% to 0.6%. Dollar's just sitting there near 98.70 after climbing the last two days.
Quick overview
- Markets are cautious ahead of US employment numbers, with futures down 0.3% to 0.6%.
- The ISM Services number showed strong growth, but JOLTS openings declined, indicating mixed signals in the labor market.
- The Australian dollar continues to fall despite the RBA's assurances against rate cuts, driven by strong dollar buying pressure.
- Gold prices are declining after a recent spike, likely due to profit-taking amid market nervousness.
Risk-off Thursday. People backing away before US employment numbers drop later. Futures down 0.3% to 0.6%. Dollar’s just sitting there near 98.70 after climbing the last two days.
Wednesday’s ISM Services number crushed it. 54.4 versus 52.6 last month. Employment part went to 52 from 48.9, so service sector’s actually hiring again. JOLTS openings fell though, 7.14 million from 7.44 million. Labor market’s sending conflicting signals.
Today we get jobless claims, trade balance from October, unit labor costs for Q3. Europe’s putting out Eurozone PPI and some sentiment data nobody really cares about.
Not much happening in FX. EUR/USD pinned under 1.1700. German factory orders printed 5.6% – way above the -1% everyone expected – and the euro still couldn’t rally. Cable’s at 1.3450 now, lost 0.3% since yesterday’s close.
Aussie won’t stop falling. Down to 0.6700. RBA’s Hauser tried talking tough about no rate cuts anytime soon. Market didn’t listen. Dollar buying pressure just steamrolled everything. AUD touched 0.6760 Wednesday (best level since October) before tanking.
Dollar-yen? Still above 156.50, doing nothing. Went up a bit yesterday, now just drifting. BOJ put out their regional thing, said most areas are “recovering moderately” or whatever. Same language they always use.
Gold’s getting sold under $4,440. Down over 0.8% yesterday, can’t bounce today even with people nervous. Probably just profit-taking after spiking to new highs earlier this week.
Trump’s talking about Greenland again. Rubio’s meeting with Denmark and Greenland officials next week. Apparently we’re still trying to buy a territory from an ally. Markets don’t care yet but it’s weird.
Dollar crushed the loonie this week, up 0.94%. Yen actually held up okay, gained 0.13% as some carry trades got closed out. Everyone else basically went sideways.
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