Forex Today: Dollar sell-off continues ahead of the Nonfarm Payrolls report

Valeria Bednarik FXStreet

What you need to take care of on Friday, December 2:

The US Dollar extended its decline to multi-month lows against most of its major rivals amid persistent optimism and tepid US data, supportive of the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy pivot.

At the beginning of the day, the Greenback was hit by the BOJ. Bank of Japan board member Asahi Noguchi surprised investors by saying the central bank is ready to withdraw stimulus if inflation numbers appear too strong. “BOJ could withdraw stimulus preemptively if underlying inflation perks up higher than expected,” said the policymaker. USD/JPY trades in the 135.40 price zone.

Meanwhile, some Chinese cities announced they are easing their testing and control coronavirus-related policies. The country has entered a new stage in fighting the virus, according to one top zero-Covid enforcer. The relief news pushed Asian and European equities higher, which in turn, undermined demand for the Greenback.

The US Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) Price Index rose by 6% YoY in October, easing from 6.3%. Core PCE inflation came in at 5% in the same period, down from 5.2% in September. Also, the ISM Manufacturing PMI fell to 49 in November, down from the previous 50.2, being the first time the indicator signals contraction since May 2020.

EUR/USD regained the 1.0500 threshold and trades above it despite softer Euro Area growth figures. GBP/USD hovers around 1.2250 ahead of the US close. The AUD/USD pair trades around 0.6810, while the worst performer was the Canadian Dollar, as USD/CAD ended the day in the 1.3430 price zone.

Gold soared and settled at $1,802 a troy ounce, its highest since August. Crude oil prices were also up, with WTI changing hands at $81.30 a barrel.

On Friday, the US will publish the Nonfarm Payrolls report, while Canada will also publish its monthly employment report.

Bitcoin price witnesses 44% increase of deposits to all exchanges in November

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Author

Valeria Bednarik

FXStreet

Valeria Bednarik was born and lives in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Her passion for math and numbers pushed her into studying economics in her younger years.

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