NFP Reports Gives US Dollars Edge against BGP, EURO

The NFP jobs report, although less than expected, still showed some recovery. The increase was enough to see the greenback record gains against its major competitors, the GBP and EUR.

Tuesday, May 1: USD continues its march higher ahead of FOMC 

The greenback started the month on a very strong note. The US Dollars ended the day as the strongest major currency, recording gains against the GBP (up 1.07%) and the EUR (up 0.70%).

GBP/USD continued its fall from last week after a weaker than expected manufacturing PMI data was reported in the UK. The price went down to 1.3711. The EUR/USD also went down on Tuesday dipping from a high of 1.2084 to a low of 1.1982. The USD/JPY went up to trade at 109.89

Wednesday, May 2: Dollar Dips on FOMC Decision Then Recovers

EUR & GBP

The two currencies are the two weakest performers on Wednesday even though there doesn’t seem to be any apparent catalysts for their slip.

Some analyst attributes the slip of the Sterling to the Brexit jitters after rumors emerged that the cabinet in the UK might reject the proposed customs agreement with the EU, news that is both bad for the UK and the eurozone.

EUR/USD went down to trade at 1.1950, EUR/JPY also went down to end the day at 131.30, and EUR/AUD slipped to trade at 1.5951.

GBP/USD dipped to 1.3572, GBP/AUD also fell to end the day trading at 1.8109, GBP/CAD dropped to 1.7472, and GBP/JPY went down to trade at 149.07.

USD

The US Dollars tumbled after the FOMC decision but later bounced back as the policy bias remained more or less the same.

USD/CAD dipped fell to trade at1.2810 before bouncing back to 1.2886, EUR/USD went up to 1.2025 before retreating to 1.1944, and GBP/USD dipped to end the day trading at 1.3535.

Thursday, May 3: Dollar Stumbles On PMI Miss Ahead Of NFP

USD

The Greenback retreated ahead of the NFP release. The decrease in the jobs component of the ISM non-manufacturing PMI might have contributed to the slump in the currency.

EUR/USD recovered from the 1.1950 region to trade at the 1.2000 mark, GBP/USD went up to 1.3571 before consolidating its gains, and USD/JPY fell to a low of 108.94.

JPY

The Japanese Yen became the safe haven for traders and this led to the currency recording gains against most of its competitors.

EUR/JPY dropped to trade at 130.74, AUD/JPY also dipped to end the day at 81.74, GBP/JPY fell to a low of 147.61, and CAD/JPY tumbled to end the day at 84.48.

Friday, May 4: NFP Rebounds Modestly

U.S. Job Growth Rebounds Modestly as Unemployment Rate Hits 3.9%

The U.S job growth went up last month but it was less than expected with the unemployment rate dropping to near a 17-1/2-year low of 3.9%. Nonfarm payrolls for April went up by 164,000, the Labor Department reported earlier today. The NFP data for March was revised up to reveal that it went up by 135,000 jobs instead of the previously reported 103,000.

Average hourly earnings meanwhile went up by four cents or 0.1% in April after recording 0.2% increase in March. This has left the annual increase in average hourly earnings standing at 2.6%. The average workweek was however left unchanged at 34.5 hours last month.

USD

The Greenback was able to record gains against some of its competitors despite the fact that job growth for April missed expectations.

GBP/USD dipped to end the day trading at 1.3575, EUR/USD also dipped to trade at 1.1988, USD/JPY dipped to 109.03 before recovering to 109.19, and USD/CAD meanwhile dipped to 1.2846.