Forex Major Currencies Outlook (Dec 7, 2015)

The US economy added 211K jobs in November, higher than the projected 201K gain. Meanwhile, the previous report enjoyed an upgrade from 271K to 298K and the unemployment rate held steady at 5.0%. Average hourly earnings rose 0.2% as expected. Only the labor market conditions index is due today.

EUR

The euro returned some of its recent wins at the end of the week but remained around its current trading levels against some of its peers. Data from the euro zone came in stronger than expected then, as German factory orders rose 1.8% versus the projected 1.3% increase. For today, the German industrial production report and euro zone Sentix investor confidence index is due.

GBP

The pound struggled to hold its ground on Friday since there were no major reports to give it any support. A testimony by BOE Governor Carney is lined up today and this should set the tone for the BOE interest rate statement later on in the week. Dovish remarks could spur losses for the pound while reassuring comments could help it stay afloat.

CHF

The franc gave back some of its wins at the end of the week, possibly due to profit-taking. The Swiss CPI actually missed expectations and showed a 0.1% drop instead of posting a flat reading. Swiss foreign currency reserves data are due today and a significant gain could be indicative of SNB intervention.

JPY

The yen lost ground on risk appetite last Friday, as the upbeat jobs data from the US sparked demand for higher-yielding currencies. Data from Japan was actually better than expected, as the consumer confidence index rose from 41.5 to 42.6 while average cash earnings enjoyed a stronger than expected gain of 0.7%. Leading indicators and a speech by BOJ Governor Kuroda are lined up today.

Commodity Currencies (AUD, NZD, CAD)

The comdolls managed to keep rallying against the dollar on Friday, as risk appetite took hold of the financial markets. The OPEC refrained from cutting oil production and Canada printed a sharper than expected 35.7K drop in hiring, but the Loonie still moved sideways after the Ivey PMI jumped from 53.1 to 63.6. There are no major reports due from the comdoll economies today.

By Kate Curtis from Trader's Way