The US Dollar recovered ground in trading in Europe as investors await some clarity on the US economic strength after mixed data added to the general uncertainty. With some clarity, investors can better gauge the timing and likelihood of prospective interest rate increases from the Federal Reserve. The US Dollar, used by FX players as a measure of the Dollar’s relative strength, ticked up 0.2% in earlier trade, touching a high of 100.53 .DXY, moving well away from the 4-month trough it struck last week after Trump’s healthcare bill failed to be called for a legislative vote. Analysts say that despite some Fed FOMC members’ recent hawkish rhetoric, traders are still quite wary, however the week ahead is likely to be the real focus, culminating in Friday’s release of private sector labor data.
As reported at 10:53 am (BST) in London, the EUR/USD was flat at $1.0662, just a few pips off the session low at $1.0660. The GBP/USD was down 0.22% at $1.2515, off the low of $1.2492 for the session. The USD/JPY was down 0.04% to trade at 111.346 Yen, well away from the session peak of 111.5800 Yen.
Data Points Ahead
Analysts and economists are forecasting 180,000 new jobs for March when the Non-Farms Payroll report is released on Friday. Also ahead this week in economic reports is today’s release of March’s PMI data from ISM and Markit on the US manufacturing sector. Several speeches from FOMC members, possibly viewed as a precursor to Wednesday’s release of the FOMC minutes of the February meeting, are also on the agenda for today. The ADP private sector numbers will be released on Wednesday and investors tend to use the data as a gauge for Friday’s government figures.