Forex Today: Dollar breaks lower and remains under pressure

Chinese inflation data is the highlight of the Asian session on Friday. Later in the day, Canada will release its employment report. Markets cheered weak employment US data that triggered a sharp decline of the US Dollar on Thursday. Investors are getting ready for next week's critical events that include US CPI and Fed and ECB meetings.

Here is what you need to know on Friday, June 9:

Wall Street indexes rose sharply on Thursday, boosted by easing expectations of a hawkish Federal Reserve ahead. A sharp increase in US Initial Jobless Claims pushed the US Dollar further to the downside. The Greenback ended the day looking vulnerable to more losses.

US Treasury yields pulled back, paring Wednesday's advance. The 10-year settled at 3.71%, and the 2-year at 4.50%. European yields also pulled back. The Japanese Yen and metals benefited from the move. Gold prices surged from $1,940 to $1,970, and Silver jumped 3.50%, breaking above $24.00.

On Friday, the economic calendar is light. China will release the Consumer Price Index for May, which is expected to rise 0.3% from a year ago; the Producer Price Index is expected to deepen into negative territory at -4.3%. These numbers would be watched closely amid increasing pressure on Chinese officials for some stimulus and rate cuts.

Euro area GDP was revised down from 0.1% QoQ to -0.1%. The number did not alter European Central Bank expectations for next week. EUR/USD posted the highest daily close in almost a month around 1.0780, and above the 20-day Simple Moving Average. The pair gained more than 80 pips.

Economists at Societe Generale commented on Eurozone data:

This revision is attributable to the revision of German 1Q23 GDP, down from 0% qoq to -0.3% qoq, and of Irish GDP, down from -2.7% qoq to -4.6% qoq. Some observers may hence comment that the euro area has entered a technical recession. We would not go that far.

USD/CAD fell modestly and stabilized around 1.3350/60. The Loonie lagged after Wednesday's rally following the unexpected rate hike from the Bank of Canada. On Friday, Canada will release its May employment report.

Comments from TD Securities regarding Canadian data:

We look for the Canadian economy to add another 25k jobs during the month of May for a deceleration from the recent trend, keeping the unemployment rate at 5.0% for the sixth consecutive month. Wage growth is expected to post a modest decline to 5.1% y/y but remain uncomfortably high for the Bank of Canada.

Canada Employment Preview: Forecasts from five major banks, tight labour market

The AUD/USD and NZD/USD rose sharply on the back of risk appetite and a weaker US Dollar, posting their highest daily close in weeks at 0.6710 and 0.6095, respectively. USD/JPY pulled back from above 140.00 to levels under 139.00.

On a volatile session amid reports of a US-Iran deal, denied by the White House, crude oil prices lost more than 2%. The WTI barrel settled below $71.00.

The improvement in market sentiment dragged cryptocurrencies to the upside. BTC/USD gained 1% to $26,600, and Ethereum climbed to $1,850.

 

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