Forex Today: Markets on a wait and watch mode ahead of US NFP, trade jitters continue
|Friday’s Asian session repeats the ordinary tune of inaction ahead of the US employment data. Also increasing the dormancy was a lack of major data/events amid no one believing in the United States (US) diplomats even if they’re positive on the phase-one deal with China. Dollars of Australia and New Zealand turned out to be the gainer with the Chinese central bank avoiding changes to its Medium-term Lending Facility (MLF) rate. On the contrary, the US dollar (USD) remains under pressure as traders doubt the upbeat forecasts from today’s top-tier data.
Further, the European currency fails to benefit much from the greenback’s weakness ahead of the Industrial Production data whereas Japanese yen (JPY) and Gold are mildly bid during the cautious tone. Additionally, WTI ignores the 500K barrels’ production cut news from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) members as the leader Saudi Arabia said to confirm it with the OPEC+ alliance.
Moving on, GBP/USD bulls are catching a breath amid recent criticism of the United Kingdom’s (UK) Prime Minister (PM) while USD/CAD traders seem too cautious ahead of the employment data from the US and Canada.
Main Topics in Asia
RBNZ's Bascand: Fiscal stimulus could boost growth next year
PBOC conducts 1-year MLF at 3.25%
Fed's balance sheet expands to highest level since late December 2018
The OPEC ministers agreed on the 500k cut proposal
Saudi OilMin: Cannot say we have agreement until we meet non-OPEC – Reuters
Four more Brexit Party MEPs 'on the verge of quitting', urge people to vote for Tory – The Telegraph
Key Focus Ahead
While employment data from the US and Canada will be in the spotlight, German Industrial Production, the final day of the OPEC meeting and the US Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index will also be important to watch. Among them, German data might not get major attention but OPEC could surely move the oil prices in a case of any surprise announcements.
When is the German Industrial Production and how could it affect EUR/USD?
Eurozone's manufacturing powerhouse Germany is set to publish Industrial Production figures for October at 07:00 GMT. The data is expected to show the factory activity expanded at a seasonally adjusted rate of 0.1% month-on-month in October, having dropped by 0.6% in the preceding month. Meanwhile, the annualized number is forecasted to print at -2.8% compared to September's -4.3%.
GBP/USD: Hardships for UK PM checks seven-day winning streak ahead of US NFP
GBP/USD seesaws around 1.3160 while heading into the London open on Friday. The quote surged for consecutive seven days till Thursday but is recently finding it hard to extend the north-run amid criticism of the UK PM.
US recession? Not so fast, a calm look at the economy and currencies ahead of the NFP
Recent US economic indicators have been downbeat, but they include silver linings and are backed by robust consumption. Valeria Bednarik, Joseph Trevisani, and Yohay Elam examine the economy, the state of the trade war, dollar directions and more, before the last Non-Farm Payroll publication of 2019.
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