The U.S. Dollar saw broad gains in London trading, with the months-long rally still holding onto a full head of steam in what is certain to be a market-moving event filled week which includes at its culmination, the non-farm payrolls report on Friday. Though consumer spending will start off the week, tomorrow’s consumer confidence report and Wednesday’s ADP employment change and Fed manufacturing ISM report could set the tone for sentiment. After last month’s huge disappointment, Friday’s labor report is expected to show that more than 200,000 new jobs were added in September; any disappointment could lead to speculation of the Fed once again pushing back the timing on an interest rate hike.
As reported at 9:24 a.m. (BST) in London, the EUR/USD was trading down at 1.2680, near the mid-point of the day’s range while the USD/JPY was higher at 109.5450 Yen, moving closer to the day’s peak and inching nearer to the psychologically important 110.00 Yen level. The U.S. Dollar Index was also higher at 85.6880 .DXY.
E.U. Inflation Report Looms
In Europe, economic reports for sentiment-related data, including consumer, business and economic, all inched lower, and today’s release of Germany’s inflation report, which is expected to have fallen again, is likely to presage the European Union’s own preliminary release tomorrow. The stagnating Eurozone economy is part and parcel for the divergence between economic policies of the U.S. and E.U., as well as the divergence in the currency; the Euro has lost nearly 9% against the greenback since July.