US Dollar Index (DXY) nudges up to 99.00 with markets bracing for the US NFP
- The Dollar trims previous losses ahead of the NFP reading.
- Investors are paring USD shorts after a string of negative US releases.
- A downbeat employment report would boost hopes of Fed easing.
The US Dollar Index (DXY) is showing a moderately positive tone on Friday, with investors trimming US Dollar lows ahead of May’s US Nonfarm Payrolls release. The DXY is nearing the 99.00 level, after hitting six-week lows, at 98.35 on Thursday, on track for a flat weekly performance.
Market forecasts anticipate a 130,000 increment on private payrolls in May, following a 177,000 rise in April, but the weak macroeconomic data seen earlier this week casts doubts about these figures.
The unemployment rate is expected to have remained steady at a 4.2% rate, but, according to some market sources, there is a chance of an increase to 4.3%, which would put additional pressure on the US Dollar.
Weak US Data has weighed on the USD
The USDollar suffered this week on the back of a string of downbeat economic releases, ISM PMI readings revealed contractions in both manufacturing and services sectors, suggesting a poor contribution to the Q2 GDP.
Beyond that, ADP figures revealed a much lower-than-expected increase in employment in May, which raised speculation that a 130K NFP forecast might be too optimistic.
Against this background, a weak employment report today might urge the Fed to end its wait-and-see stance and lower interest rates in the coming months. Such a scenario would push the Dollar lower against its main peers.
US Dollar PRICE Today
The table below shows the percentage change of US Dollar (USD) against listed major currencies today. US Dollar was the strongest against the Japanese Yen.
| USD | EUR | GBP | JPY | CAD | AUD | NZD | CHF | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| USD | 0.29% | 0.28% | 0.45% | 0.07% | 0.34% | 0.19% | 0.28% | |
| EUR | -0.29% | -0.00% | 0.13% | -0.22% | -0.01% | -0.09% | -0.01% | |
| GBP | -0.28% | 0.00% | 0.12% | -0.21% | 0.00% | -0.09% | -0.01% | |
| JPY | -0.45% | -0.13% | -0.12% | -0.33% | 0.01% | -0.14% | -0.23% | |
| CAD | -0.07% | 0.22% | 0.21% | 0.33% | 0.27% | 0.13% | 0.21% | |
| AUD | -0.34% | 0.00% | -0.00% | -0.01% | -0.27% | -0.08% | 0.00% | |
| NZD | -0.19% | 0.09% | 0.09% | 0.14% | -0.13% | 0.08% | 0.08% | |
| CHF | -0.28% | 0.00% | 0.00% | 0.23% | -0.21% | -0.01% | -0.08% |
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 US Dollar from the left column and move along the horizontal line to the Japanese Yen, the percentage change displayed in the box will represent USD (base)/JPY (quote).
Author
Guillermo Alcala
FXStreet
Graduated in Communication Sciences at the Universidad del Pais Vasco and Universiteit van Amsterdam, Guillermo has been working as financial news editor and copywriter in diverse Forex-related firms, like FXStreet and Kantox.
