Forex Today: Nonfarm Payrolls could mean an even more aggressive Fed

Valeria Bednarik FXStreet

What you need to know on Friday, January 7:

The greenback retained most of its post-FOMC Minutes gains, despite US data being generally disappointing. Stocks maintained the sour tone, while US government bond yields held near the multi-month highs achieved on Wednesday.

The EUR/USD pair settled around 1.1290, at the lower end of its weekly range, while GBP/USD trades at around 1.3520. The AUD/USD pair edged lower, now trading in the 0.7160 area, undermined by gold prices, as the bright metal fell to end the day at $1,788 a troy ounce. The Canadian dollar, on the other hand, appreciated against the greenback, with USD/CAD trading in the 1.2720 region, as crude oil prices surged to fresh multi-month highs. The barrel of WTI peaked at $80.11, now trading at 79.70.

US Federal Reserve officials reinforced the idea of a more aggressive Fed. St. Louis Fed President James Bullard said that the Federal Reserve could raise interest rates as soon as March, while Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco President and FOMC member Mary Daly said that they will need to raise interest rates to keep the economy in balance.

The focus on Friday will be on the US December Nonfarm Payrolls report. The country is expected to have added 400K new jobs positions after gaining 210K in November. The unemployment rate is foreseen at 4.1%, down from 4.2% previously, although the under-employment rate is seen ticking higher, from 7.8% to 8%.

Ethereum enters support zone that will see ETH return to $4,000

Like this article? Help us with some feedback by answering this survey:

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.

EUR/USD flirts with daily highs, retargets 1.1900

EUR/USD regains upside traction, returning to the 1.1880 zone and refocusing its attention to the key 1.1900 barrier. The pair’s slight gains comes against the backdrop of a humble decline in the US Dollar as investors continue to assess the latest US CPI readings and the potential Fed’s rate path.

GBP/USD remains well bid around 1.3650

GBP/USD maintains its upside momentum in place, hovering around daily highs near 1.3650 and setting aside part of the recent three-day drop. Cable’s improved sentiment comes on the back of the Greenback’s irresolute price action, while recent hawkish comments from the BoE’s Pill also collaborate with the uptick.

Gold clings to gains just above $5,000/oz

Gold is reclaiming part of the ground lost on Wednesday’s marked decline, as bargain-hunters keep piling up and lifting prices past the key $5,000 per troy ounce. The precious metal’s move higher is also underpinned by the slight pullback in the US Dollar and declining US Treasury yields across the curve.

Crypto Today: Bitcoin, Ethereum, XRP in choppy price action, weighed down by falling institutional interest

Bitcoin's upside remains largely constrained amid weak technicals and declining institutional interest. Ethereum trades sideways above $1,900 support with the upside capped below $2,000 amid ETF outflows.

Week ahead – Data blitz, Fed Minutes and RBNZ decision in the spotlight

US GDP and PCE inflation are main highlights, plus the Fed minutes. UK and Japan have busy calendars too with focus on CPI. Flash PMIs for February will also be doing the rounds. RBNZ meets, is unlikely to follow RBA’s hawkish path.

Ripple Price Forecast: XRP potential bottom could be in sight

Ripple edges up above the intraday low of $1.35 at the time of writing on Friday amid mixed price actions across the crypto market. The remittance token failed to hold support at $1.40 the previous day, reflecting risk-off sentiment amid a decline in retail and institutional sentiment.