Forex Today: Dollar creeps higher as focus shifts to November Nonfarm Payrolls

Eren Sengezer FXStreet

Here is what you need to know on Friday, December 3:

The US Dollar Index closed the second straight day modestly higher on Thursday and holds its ground early Friday as investors gear up for the November jobs report from the US. Investors expect Nonfarm Payrolls to rise by 550,000 following October's increase of 531,000. October Retail Sales data for the euro area, Canadian employment figures and the ISM Services PMI survey from the US will be featured in the economic docket as well.

Risk flows dominated the financial markets on Thursday and Wall Street's main indexes managed to register impressive gains. The US Senate has voted to approve the bill to avert a government shutdown over the weekend. Meanwhile, Bloomberg reported that a recently conducted research in the UK found that most of the booster shots were able to increase the antibodies against the Omicron variant. Moreover, GlaxoSmithKline said Its COVID-19 antibody drug, Sotrovimab, was likely effective against the new variant.

US stocks futures are trading flat in the early European session and the 10-year US Treasury bond yield is moving sideways near 1.44% after rising nearly 3% on Thursday. In an interview with the Financial Times, Cleveland Fed President Loretta Mester noted that the economy was better at dealing with new coronavirus variants.

EUR/USD has retreated to 1.1300 area with the greenback preserving its strength ahead of the weekend.

GBP/USD managed to close in the positive territory on Thursday but seems to be having a difficult time pulling away from 1.3300 early Friday.

USD/JPY continues to edge higher above 113.00 on improving market sentiment but the pair's upside remains limited with US T-bond yields losing traction.

USD/CAD is edging lower toward 1.2800 as crude oil prices stage a rebound following a sharp decline witnessed on OPEC+ decision to go ahead with their original plan to increase the oil output by 400,000 barrels per day in January.

Gold slumped to its weakest level in a year at $1,761 on Thursday but recovered above $1,770 early Friday. The yellow metal continues to have a hard time finding demand when risk flows dominate the financial markets.

Cryptocurrencies: Bitcoin is moving up and down in a narrow channel above $55,000. Ethereum closed the previous two trading days in the negative territory and seems to have gone into a consolidation phase around $4,500.

Author

Eren Sengezer

FXStreet

As an economist at heart, Eren Sengezer specializes in the assessment of the short-term and long-term impacts of macroeconomic data, central bank policies and political developments on financial assets.

EUR/USD appears supported by the 200-day SMA, for now

Following an early pullback to multi-week lows near 1.1670, EUR/USD now manages to reclaim the 1.1700 region as the NA session draws to a close on Monday. The steep retracement in spot follows the equally strong move higher in the US Dollar, as investors continue to assess the geopolitical landscape in the wake of the US and Israel attacks on Iran.

GBP/USD hits new yearly lows near 1.3300

GBP/USD adds to the recent bearish tone, approaching to the key 1.3300 support to reach fresh YTD troughs against the backdrop of the robust performance of the US Dollar. Indeed, Cable’s decline comes amid the firm demand for the safe-haven space in the wake of the US and Israel attacks to Iran.

Gold eases some ground, approaches $5,300

Gold now surrenders part of the earlier advance, reshifting its attenton to the $5,300 zone per troy ounce at the beginning of the week. Indeed, the yellow metal’s firm performance appears propped up by incresing geopolitical jitters in the Middle East, which at the same time fuels the demand for the safe-haven space.