The dollar has been trading in a mixed manner against major counterparts as traders prefer a cautious tone ahead of the US Nonfarm Payrolls data that will likely set the tone for markets later in the day. It is widely expected that employment will show a record drop of around 21-22 million jobs and a rise in the unemployment rate to 14-15% from 4.4% in March.
However, considering that the ADP Employment report revealed a contraction in private payrolls by over 20 million jobs, market reaction to the upcoming release could be fairly muted. Besides, the Federal Reserve has already vowed to use its full range of tools to support the American economy amid the coronavirus pandemic.
EURUSD bounced from lows yesterday and recovered above the 1.08 handle, but the recovery slatted around the 1.0850 intermediate resistance. The US jobs data could trigger a local sell-off in the common currency as weak data may fuel the safe-haven dollar demand amid the potential risk aversion. If so, the pair could bet back below 1.08. On the weekly timeframes, the euro is deeply in the red after a spectacular rally witnessed during the previous week.
GBPUSD is trading marginally higher on the day, still struggling to overcome the 50-daily moving average. The technical picture remains bearish as long as the pair remains below the 1.25 barrier. On the positive side, the high-yielding sterling is somehow supported by progress in the US-China trade relations.
Meanwhile, USDJPY is holding above the 106.00 figure but may threaten this important support again if risk sentiment deteriorates by the end of the day. On the weekly charts, the technical picture continues to worsen as the greenback is finishing the fourth negative week in a row.
AUDUSD jumped to the 100-daily moving average today as traders cheered decent trade balance data from Australia that helped to outweigh the negative tone from the Reserve bank of Australia’s cautious outlook on the economy amid the coronavirus pandemic. A daily close above the 0.65 level will shift market focus to the 0.6550-0.6570 resistance area.
