Headlines:
Dollar holds steadier but all eyes will be on the US jobs report tomorrowJapan’s Akazawa says will not sacrifice national interests by rushing into a trade dealJapan trade negotiator Akazawa reportedly set for another US visit this weekendECB’s Rehn: should be mindful of risk that inflation stays persistently below 2% targetMore from ECB’s Rehn: Euro appreciation helped ECB reach 2% inflation targetECB’s Wunsch: I am not uncomfortable with market’s interest rate expectationsECB’s Centeno: I’m still cautious, following all data availableBOE’s Taylor says don’t think bigger rate cuts are necessarily needed or desirableBOE’s Taylor: I think five rate cuts are needed in 2025US June Challenger layoffs 47.999k vs 93.816k priorUS MBA mortgage applications w.e. 27 June +2.7% vs +1.1% prior
Markets:
USD leads, NZD lags on the dayEuropean equities higher; S&P 500 futures flatUS 10-year yields up 4.2 bps to 4.290%Gold flat at $3,340.36WTI crude up 1.2% to $66.25Bitcoin up 1.4% to $107,446
It was a relatively quiet session as markets appear to be gearing up towards the US jobs report tomorrow more than anything else.
The dollar is seen firmer, paring back some losses from earlier this week and last week. But if anything, this looks to be traders making some positioning plays before the main event tomorrow. Dollar shorts are being covered just a little as the greenback hovers around three-year lows.
EUR/USD is seen dropping from 1.1800 to 1.1755 while USD/JPY has nudged up by 0.5% to just back above 144.00 on the day. Elsewhere, GBP/USD is down 0.6% to 1.3660 with BOE dove Taylor trying to seed the idea of three more rate cuts to come by year-end.
Meanwhile, USD/CAD is flattish though around 1.3645 while AUD/USD is down 0.4% to 0.6555 as buyers lose some steam on the week.
In the equities space, European indices are up in search of a bounce back from yesterday’s more tepid showing. And that comes as US futures are looking more mixed after the rotation play yesterday. Tech shares are starting to sag again after holding up earlier, with Nasdaq futures now down 0.1%.
Besides that, there’s nothing too exciting as we await US data before the long weekend. The ADP employment report is up next but that hasn’t been a fair indicator of what’s to come for non-farm payrolls for quite a while now.
This article was written by Justin Low at www.forexlive.com.