EUR/USD
EUR/USD is trading near 1.0849 on Friday’s Asian session. Words of caution from Federal Reserve officials on Thursday about the need to keep interest-rate cuts in check until inflation clearly slows snuffed a Wall Street stock rally and sparked a rise in bond prices. Global equity markets had risen after data showing an increase in new claims for U.S. unemployment benefits kept intact the outlook for the Fed to soon cut rates, ahead of a key jobs report due out on Friday.
GBP/USD
The GBP/USD pair trades with a mild negative around 1.2640 bias on Friday during the early Asian session. The modest rebound of the US Dollar (USD) to 104.20 amid the cautious mood provides some support to the major pair. Investors will closely watch the highly-anticipated US Non-farm Payrolls on Friday, along with the Unemployment Rate and speeches by Fed’s Musalem, Kugler, Barkin, and Bowman.
USD/JPY
The Japanese Yen strengthened for the second straight day against the USD on Friday. The risk-off mood, along with intervention fears, boosts demand for the safe-haven JPY. The Fed rate-cut uncertainty undermines the USD and contributes to the USD/JPY’s fall.
AUD/USD
AUD/USD is feeling the pull of gravity, eyeing 0.6550 in Friday’s Asian trading. Geopolitical tensions and pre-US NFP nervousness keep markets risk-averse, weighing negatively on the Aussie while supporting the US Dollar. Mixed Australian trade data also add to the pair’s downside.
NZD/USD
NZD/USD continues its upward momentum for the fourth consecutive day, reaching near 0.6020 during the Asian session on Friday. The seasonally adjusted Building Permits (Month-on-Month) data released by Statistics New Zealand showed improvement, with a notable increase of 14.9% in February, rebounding from the previous decline of 8.6%.
USD/CAD
The USD/CAD pair trades slightly above 1.3520 on Friday’s early Asian trading session. The rise of crude oil prices to their highest levels since October boost the commodity-linked Loonie. Additionally, the weaker-than-expected US ISM Services PMI data for March weighs on the Greenback and drags the USD/CAD pair lower.
USD/CHF
The USDCHF regained traction on Thursday after a shallow pullback from new five-month high (0.9095) and holding within a narrow consolidation. Softer than expected Swiss inflation data adds to expectations that the SNB will opt for another 25 basis points rate cut in June, that further deflates Swiss franc.
CRUDE OIL
Oil prices extended gains on Friday and headed for a second weekly gain, supported by geopolitical tensions in Europe and the Middle East, concerns over tightening supply, and optimism about global fuel demand growth as economies improve.
GOLD
Gold price corrects further from the all-time high amid hawkish remarks by Fed officials. Persistent geopolitical tensions should limit the downside for the safe-haven XAU/USD. Traders might also refrain from placing aggressive bets ahead of the crucial US jobs data.
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