Euro slips against US Dollar as Nonfarm Payrolls crush expectations
- EUR/USD retreats as the US Dollar strengthens following upbeat US employment data.
- US Nonfarm Payrolls jump by 162K in August, sharply beating the 56K market forecast.
- Attention now shifts to next week’s US inflation figures and the ECB monetary policy announcement.
EUR/USD comes under selling pressure on Friday as the US Dollar (USD) strengthens following the release of the upbeat United States (US) employment report. At the time of writing, the pair trades around 1.1605, down roughly 0.18% on the day, after retreating from an intraday high of 1.1633.
US Nonfarm Payrolls (NFP) rose by 162K in August, comfortably beating expectations for a 56K increase. July’s reading was revised sharply higher to a gain of 21K from the previously reported 23K decline, while June payrolls were revised to 31K from 20K. The Unemployment Rate held steady at 4.1%, as expected.
The US Dollar strengthens following the employment report, while US Treasury yields also move higher across the curve. The US Dollar Index (DXY), which tracks the Greenback’s value against a basket of six major currencies, trades around 99.20 after falling to a more-than-one-week low of 98.83 on Thursday. Meanwhile, the benchmark 10-year Treasury yield retests 4.81%, its highest level since October 2023, touched earlier this week.
The stronger employment figures revive expectations that the Federal Reserve (Fed) could raise interest rates at its September 15-16 meeting. Still, the jobs report may not settle the September policy debate on its own. Next week’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) and Producer Price Index (PPI) data will give policymakers a clearer picture of inflation before the Fed announces its decision.
On the Euro (EUR) side, weaker-than-expected Eurozone Retail Sales add some pressure. Sales fell 0.6% MoM in July, missing expectations for a 0.3% increase, while annual growth slowed to 0.6% from 1.4% and fell short of the 1.1% forecast.
However, expectations that the European Central Bank (ECB) will raise interest rates at its September 9-10 meeting could limit the Euro’s losses. The ECB is widely expected to deliver a second rate hike this year as higher Oil prices and tensions in the Middle East keep inflation risks elevated.
US Dollar Price Today
The table below shows the percentage change of US Dollar (USD) against listed major currencies today. US Dollar was the strongest against the Swiss Franc.
| USD | EUR | GBP | JPY | CAD | AUD | NZD | CHF | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| USD | 0.18% | 0.15% | 0.09% | 0.42% | 0.10% | 0.11% | 0.44% | |
| EUR | -0.18% | -0.03% | -0.09% | 0.27% | -0.09% | -0.05% | 0.26% | |
| GBP | -0.15% | 0.03% | -0.04% | 0.29% | -0.05% | -0.02% | 0.28% | |
| JPY | -0.09% | 0.09% | 0.04% | 0.34% | -0.01% | 0.03% | 0.33% | |
| CAD | -0.42% | -0.27% | -0.29% | -0.34% | -0.35% | -0.32% | -0.01% | |
| AUD | -0.10% | 0.09% | 0.05% | 0.00% | 0.35% | 0.03% | 0.33% | |
| NZD | -0.11% | 0.05% | 0.02% | -0.03% | 0.32% | -0.03% | 0.30% | |
| CHF | -0.44% | -0.26% | -0.28% | -0.33% | 0.00% | -0.33% | -0.30% |
The heat map shows percentage changes of major currencies against each other. The base currency is picked from the left column, while the quote currency is picked from the top row. For example, if you pick the US Dollar from the left column and move along the horizontal line to the Japanese Yen, the percentage change displayed in the box will represent USD (base)/JPY (quote).
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