The British Pound retreats against the Japanese Yen, down about 0.24%, as the Yen is poised to end the week on a higher note. However, GBP/JPY is poised to finish the week with minimal gains, trading at 212.64.
EUR/JPY trades on the back foot on Friday, easing away even as the Euro (EUR) posts solid gains against the US Dollar (USD). The Japanese currency surged suddenly near the start of the American session after a surprisingly weak United States (US) employment report.
The Pound Sterling edges higher by some 0.29%, yet it remains trading sideways, unable to decisively crack 1.3500 after reaching a weekly peak of 1.3506, and has retreated to the 1.3490 area.
The Mexican Peso capitalizes on a weaker US jobs report and soars versus the US Dollar as risk appetite improves and the US Dollar gets battered on speculation that the Federal Reserve might not raise rates in 2026. The USD/MXN trades at 17.18, after refreshing five-month lows at 17.09.
Chang Wei Liang at DBS Group Research notes that KRW is currently the best performing Asian currency, supported by strong semiconductor demand and reported FX intervention coordination between Korea, the US and Japan.
EUR/USD edges higher on Friday, supported by a softer US Dollar (USD) as traders scale back Federal Reserve (Fed) rate-hike bets following a disappointing US Nonfarm Payrolls (NFP) report. At the time of writing, the pair trades around 1.1562, hovering near a seven-week high.
NZD/USD trades around 0.5890 on Friday at the time of writing, up 0.36% on the day.
The AUD/USD pair surged to its highest in nearly two months past 0.7070 earlier on Friday, following the release of the United States (US) Nonfarm Payrolls (NFP) report. The move owes nothing to Australia.
USD/CHF edges lower on Friday, erasing most of the previous day’s gains as the US Dollar (USD) weakens following a downside surprise in the US Nonfarm Payrolls (NFP) report. At the time of writing, the pair trades around 0.8080, down 0.53% on the day.
USD/CAD declines sharply on Friday, trading around 1.3940 at the time of writing, down 0.53% on the day, hitting its lowest level since June.
USD/JPY falls toward 157.40 on Friday, down 0.65% on the day at the time of writing, as the US Dollar (USD) comes under heavy selling pressure following a much weaker-than-expected US employment report.
The British Pound (GBP) strengthens against the US Dollar (USD) on Friday after a disappointing US Nonfarm Payrolls report prompts traders to scale back bets on Federal Reserve (Fed) interest-rate hikes. At the time of writing, GBP/USD trades around 1.3506, hovering near three-week highs.
EUR/USD jumps 0.43% on the day and trades around 1.1570 at the time of writing, as the US Dollar (USD) comes under heavy selling pressure following a much weaker-than-expected US employment report.
Brown Brothers Harriman’s (BBH) Elias Haddad highlights growing market skepticism about Japan’s FX interventions, despite sizeable recent operations that triggered sharp but temporary Japanese Yen (JPY) rallies.
The Euro (EUR) edges higher against the British Pound (GBP) on Friday, although price action has been confined to a narrow range over the past ten trading days, suggesting that the mid-July rebound from below 0.8500 is losing steam beneath a dense cluster of moving averages.
Commerzbank’s Thu Lan Nguyen argues that the US Dollar's (USD) current support from perceived hawkish Federal Reserve (Fed) policy is likely to fade as markets reassess United States (US) rate expectations over coming quarters.
Rabobank’s Molly Schwartz and Christian Lawrence note that Mexico's central bank, Banxico unanimously kept the overnight policy rate at 6.50% on August 6 and continues to judge the stance as appropriate.
United Overseas Bank’s (UOB) Quek Ser Leang and Lee Sue Ann report EUR/USD has retreated to 1.1524 after failing several times near 1.1560. Intraday, they see scope for further pullback but expect strong support at 1.1495 to hold.
USD/CAD trades around 1.4020 on Friday at the time of writing, up a modest 0.06% on the day with no clear directional bias as investors remain cautious ahead of the release of US and Canadian July employment reports.
The Australian Dollar (AUD) trades slightly higher to near 0.7040 against the US Dollar (USD) during the European trading session on Friday.
The Euro (EUR) has staged a notable recovery from its mid-June lows against the US Dollar (USD), driven in part by financial markets dialing back expectations for further Federal Reserve (Fed) interest rate hikes.
The US Dollar (USD) pares gains against the Swiss Franc (CHF) on Friday, with the USD/CHF pair drifting towards the 0.8100 level, after rejection at 0.8136 highs on Thursday.
United Overseas Bank’s (UOB) Quek Ser Leang and Lee Sue Ann note AUD/USD has pulled back to 0.7032 after failing to clear 0.7075, with intraday price action expected to remain range-bound between 0.7015 and 0.7055.
The Japanese Yen (JPY) has underperformed its major currency peers this week due to a lack of follow-up joint intervention by the United States (US) and Japan.
The NZD/USD pair seesaws between tepid gains and minor losses through the first half of the European session on Friday as traders opt to move to the sidelines ahead of the release of the crucial US Nonfarm Payrolls (NFP) report.
The British Pound (GBP) nurses minor gains against the (USD) for the second consecutive day on Friday, with the GBP/USD retreating to levels just below 1.3450 at the time of writing.
BNY's David Tam argues that rising U.S. rate volatility should favor safe-haven currencies, with the Yen historically benefiting from such episodes. Heavy speculative JPY shorts add another catalyst, as appreciation could force position unwinds and trigger a sharper squeeze.
The Japanese Yen (JPY) trades almost flat against the US Dollar (USD) at around 158.42 during the European trading session on Friday. The USD/JPY pair consolidates as investors await the United States (US) Nonfarm Payrolls (NFP) data for July, which will be published at 12:30 GMT.
The GBP/JPY cross struggles to extend its positive move witnessed over the past three days and consolidates around the 213.00 mark, or the top end of its weekly range, through the early European session on Friday.
Silver (XAG/USD) resumes its near-term bullish trend on Friday, after a brief hesitation on Thursday, reaching fresh six-week highs at $63.90, although it is still due to confirm the break of the resistance area at $63.30.