The Euro was broadly higher against its major peers during Friday’s Asian trading session, getting a solid boost after the European Central Bank’s monetary policy decision left investors secure in the knowledge that there wouldn’t be any further stimulus measures in the near term. Though the ECB chief did reiterate the bank’s previously stated position that the ECB stood ready to take action if need to be to provide support to the Eurozone’s still fragile recovery, the absence of any definitive details was welcome news to Euro bulls. According to one economist in London, Draghi’s comments did not appear to convey any urgency.
As reported at 11:41 a.m. (JST) in Tokyo, the EUR/USD traded at $1.3672, not far from the October 31st high of $1.3677, that a gain of 0.5%. The EUR/JPY traded higher at 139.14 Yen, but failed to break above this week’s 5-year high of 140.03 Yen. The EUR/GBP traded at 83.68 Pence, edging off the session high of 83.79 Pence; yesterday, the Bank of England provided its monetary policy decision, stating that interest rates would remain at existing levels.
U.S. Labor Data in Focus
Market players will turn their attention back to the U.S. in anticipation of the release of the all-important non-farms labor data. The consensus of a recently polled group of economists has indicated that they believe that new private sector jobs would hit 180,000 last month, down from 204,000 in October. Any surprise to the upside would give investors reason to hope that the Fed’s loose monetary policy might soon be reined in, which would provide a lift to the greenback. The U.S. Dollar Index slipped to a fresh 5-week trough earlier, trading at 80.231 .DXY, as investors await the labor data; positive news would likely lift the greenback while a negative surprise would weigh further.