American FX Outlook: Canada’s employment data headline

Mario Blascak, PhD Independent Analyst

What you need to know before markets open

China’s trade balance reached a slightly lower surplus than expected with imports rising massively.
G7 meeting starts in Canada with the US-led trade wars being the hottest topic.
German industrial production disappointed in April falling -1.0% over the month.
The Canadian employment report headline the US session.

Friday's upcoming market moving events

G7 meeting starts in La Malbaie in Canada with the latest round of trade tariffs threat from the US being the hottest topic.
Canada’s employment is expected to rise 17.5 K in May with the unemployment rate unchanged at 5.8%. For further details read Yohay’s Preview here.

Major market themes

EUR is trading down 0.25% at 1.1765 as repositioning ahead of the weekend G7 summit is taking place.
Sterling trades 0.1% hovering near 1.3400 level.
Watch CAD factoring in the Canadian employment report.

Earlier in Asia/Europe

China’s trade balance reached a surplus of $24.92 billion with exports rising 12.6% y/y while imports rose 26% y/y.
German industrial production unexpectedly fell -1.0% m/m while decelerating to 2.0% y/y in April.
German trade balance reached a surplus of €20.4 billion in April.
The Bank of England inflation expectation survey saw median inflation expected in the one-year horizon at 2.9% in May, unchanged from April.
ECB executive board member Yves Mersch was participating at International Risk Management Conference in Paris but refrained to talk about the monetary policy issues as the meeting falls to the quiet period before next week’s ECB meeting. For details read my ECB Preview here.

Author

Mario Blascak, PhD

Independent Analyst

Dr. Mário Bla&scaron;čák worked in professional finance and banking for 15 years before moving to journalism. While working for Austrian and German banks, he specialized in covering markets and macroeconomics.

EUR/USD hits two-day highs near 1.1820

EUR/USD picks up pace and reaches two-day tops around 1.1820 at the end of the week. The pair’s move higher comes on the back of renewed weakness in the US Dollar amid growing talk that the Fed could deliver an interest rate cut as early as March. On the docket, the flash US Consumer Sentiment improves to 57.3 in February.

GBP/USD reclaims 1.3600 and above

GBP/USD reverses two straight days of losses, surpassing the key 1.3600 yardstick on Friday. Cable’s rebound comes as the Greenback slips away from two-week highs in response to some profit-taking mood and speculation of Fed rate cuts. In addition, hawkish comments from the BoE’s Pill are also collaborating with the quid’s improvement.

Gold climbs further, focus is back to 45,000

Gold regains upside traction and surpasses the $4,900 mark per troy ounce at the end of the week, shifting its attention to the critical $5,000 region. The move reflects a shift in risk sentiment, driving flows back towards traditional safe haven assets and supporting the yellow metal.

Crypto Today: Bitcoin, Ethereum, XRP rebound amid risk-off, $2.6 billion liquidation wave

Bitcoin edges up above $65,000 at the time of writing on Friday, as dust from the recent macro-triggered sell-off settles. The leading altcoin, Ethereum, hovers above $1,900, but resistance at $2,000 caps the upside. Meanwhile, Ripple has recorded the largest intraday jump among the three assets, up over 10% to $1.35.

Three scenarios for Japanese Yen ahead of snap election

The latest polls point to a dominant win for the ruling bloc at the upcoming Japanese snap election. The larger Sanae Takaichi’s mandate, the more investors fear faster implementation of tax cuts and spending plans.

XRP rally extends as modest ETF inflows support recovery

Ripple is accelerating its recovery, trading above $1.36 at the time of writing on Friday, as investors adjust their positions following a turbulent week in the broader crypto market. The remittance token is up over 21% from its intraday low of $1.12.