Forex Major Currencies Outlook (May 09, 2016)

The economy added only 160K jobs in April versus the estimated 203K gain while previous readings were also downgraded. Only the labor market conditions index is up for release from the US economy today.

USD

The US dollar lost some ground to its forex counterparts on Friday when the NFP reading missed expectations. The economy added only 160K jobs in April versus the estimated 203K gain while previous readings were also downgraded. Only the labor market conditions index is up for release from the US economy today.

EUR

The euro was generally weaker against the dollar and yen but managed to advance against comdolls. Euro zone retail PMI fell from 49.2 to 47.9 to show a sharper contraction. German factory orders and the euro zone Sentix investor confidence figures are up for release today.

GBP

The pound shrugged off weaker than expected PMI readings earlier in the week and drew support from renewed anti-Brexit sentiment, with London mayor Johnson leaving his post. Only the Halifax HPI is due from the UK today.

CHF

The franc continued to sell off on Friday, especially since the foreign currency reserves data showed a climb from 576B CHF to 588B CHF. Swiss CPI is due today and a 0.2% uptick is eyed, with weaker than expected results likely to spur more franc losses.

JPY

The yen consolidated to most of its peers even with the return of Japanese traders from their long holiday. The BOJ meeting minutes were released today but these didn't spark much volatility, although the yen appears to be losing ground as of this writing.

Commodity Currencies (AUD, NZD, CAD)

The comdolls were mostly weaker on Friday, especially after the RBA monetary policy statement indicated a weaker inflation outlook and scope for additional easing. Later on, the Canadian jobs report showed a 2.1K drop in hiring versus the estimated 0.2K gain. Over the weekend, the Chinese trade balance beat expectations with a larger surplus of 298B CNY.

By Kate Curtis from Trader's Way