Forex Today: Major pairs stabilize as focus shifts to mid-tier US data, Fedspeak

Eren Sengezer FXStreet

Here is what you need to know on Thursday, October 5:

Major currency pairs trade in familiar ranges early Thursday following Wednesday's volatile action. The US Dollar Index consolidates its recent losses below 107.00 as investors await August Goods Trade Balance and the weekly Initial Jobless Claims data from the US. Market participants will also pay close attention to comments from Federal Reserve policymakers later in the day.

Disappointing data releases from the US caused the US Dollar (USD) to lose interest mid-week. ADP's monthly report showed that employment in the private sector increased by 89,000 in September, falling short of the market expectation of 153,000 by a wide margin. Additionally, the ISM Services PMI declined to 53.6 from 54.5 in August. Meanwhile, the downward correction seen in US Treasury bond yields further weighed on the USD during the American trading hours. Early Thursday, the 10-year US yield holds steady at around 4.75% and US stock index futures trade modestly lower on the day.

US Dollar price this week

The table below shows the percentage change of US Dollar (USD) against listed major currencies this week. US Dollar was the strongest against the Australian Dollar.

	USD	EUR	GBP	CAD	AUD	JPY	NZD	CHF
USD		0.49%	0.44%	1.29%	1.42%	-0.35%	1.04%	0.18%
EUR	-0.49%		-0.03%	0.81%	0.94%	-0.83%	0.55%	-0.31%
GBP	-0.45%	0.05%		0.85%	0.98%	-0.80%	0.59%	-0.27%
CAD	-1.30%	-0.83%	-0.82%		0.14%	-1.67%	-0.26%	-1.12%
AUD	-1.44%	-0.94%	-0.99%	-0.14%		-1.79%	-0.39%	-1.28%
JPY	0.34%	0.84%	0.80%	1.64%	1.75%		1.39%	0.53%
NZD	-1.04%	-0.55%	-0.59%	0.26%	0.39%	-1.39%		-0.86%
CHF	-0.18%	0.31%	0.27%	1.11%	1.25%	-0.53%	0.87%

The heat map shows percentage changes of major currencies against each other. The base currency is picked from the left column, while the quote currency is picked from the top row. For example, if you pick the Euro from the left column and move along the horizontal line to the Japanese Yen, the percentage change displayed in the box will represent EUR (base)/JPY (quote).

The data from Australia showed that Exports rose 4% in August, while Imports remained virtually unchanged. AUD/USD gained traction in the Asian session and climbed toward 0.6400 before retreating to the 0.6350 area by the European morning.

The Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee (JMMC) of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) announced on Wednesday that they left the output policy unchanged following their monthly meeting. Crude oil prices turned south and the barrel of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) lost more than 5% on a daily basis to settle below $85. Despite the broad USD weakness, USD/CAD closed in positive territory as the commodity-sensitive Canadian Dollar struggled to find demand. Early Thursday, the pair clings to modest daily gains above 1.3750.

EUR/USD edged higher and close above 1.0500 on Wednesday before going into a consolidation phase on Thursday. Earlier in the day, Germany's Destatis reported earlier in the day that the trade surplus contracted to €16.6 billion in August from €17.7 billion in July.

GBP/USD benefited from improving risk mood and the selling pressure surrounding the USD on Wednesday and ended the day above 1.2100. Early Thursday, the pair fluctuates in a tight channel slightly below 1.2150.

USD/JPY declined sharply in the early Asian session on Thursday but managed to recover back to the 149.00 area.

Gold price closed virtually unchanged on Wednesday as falling US yields helped XAU/USD find demand. In the European morning, the pair moves sideways slightly above $1,820.

Author

Eren Sengezer

FXStreet

As an economist at heart, Eren Sengezer specializes in the assessment of the short-term and long-term impacts of macroeconomic data, central bank policies and political developments on financial assets.

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