On Friday, October 4, the US Dollar Index, which measures the dollar’s strength against a selection of six prominent currencies, continued its upward trend, reaching the highest daily closing level since mid-August on Thursday. However, early Friday saw a slight dip in the index as market participants prepared for the upcoming US employment report for September, which will provide key figures such as Nonfarm Payrolls (NFP), the Unemployment Rate, and wage inflation data.
Analysts are anticipating an increase of approximately 140,000 in the NFP, following a reported rise of 142,000 in August. It is also expected that the Unemployment Rate will remain stable at 4.2%. As traders await these important statistics, the USD Index is fluctuating around the 102.00 mark. Concurrently, US stock index futures have shown mixed signals, indicating a cautious market sentiment. Data released on Thursday revealed a rise in first-time unemployment claims to 225,000 for the week ending September 28, up from 219,000 the week prior. Conversely, the ISM Services PMI saw a notable improvement, climbing to 54.9 in September from 51.5 in August, suggesting robust growth in the service sector.
The EUR/USD pair experienced its fifth consecutive day of losses on Thursday and struggled to find support in early trading on Friday, hovering just above the 1.1000 level. Meanwhile, GBP/USD faced a sharp decline of over 1% on Thursday, influenced by the strengthening dollar and cautious remarks from the Bank of England’s leadership. The pair managed a technical rebound early Friday and traded above 1.3150.
In the currency market, USD/JPY continued its upward trajectory from Wednesday, surpassing the 147.00 threshold for the first time since early September. However, during Friday’s Asian trading session, it retreated slightly below 146.50. Meanwhile, gold prices fell under $2,640 on Thursday but managed to recover some losses during the American trading hours, trading quietly in a tight range around $2,660 early Friday.
