Will The NFP Report Boost Demand For U.S. Dollars?

After we have finished our trading on Thursday, we saw a sharp drop in both EUR/USD and GBPUSD which was due to a strengthening U.S. dollar. The reason for the dollar’s fresh strength was Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell who said in an online event yesterday that he would be “concerned” by disorderly markets but he refrained from pushing back more forcefully against the recent spike in Treasury yields. The dollar climbed as benchmark 10-year bond rates topped 1.5 percent.

EUR/USD: Next bearish target is 1.19. In case of a correction, bulls may push the pair higher towards 1.2050 and 1.2080 from where price may retrace.

GBP/USD: Next bearish target is at around 1.38. Falling below 1.38, losses could be extended until 1.3760-50. After the 1.40-level has proven challenging for sterling bulls, we expect the price to retrace at around 1.3980 in case of any bullish movement today. For the sentiment to shift in favor of the bulls we will need to see a bullish break above 1.4025.

The next high-impact event risk will be the release of monthly payrolls data today at 13:30 UTC. Nonfarm payrolls are forecast to add 180,000 positions in February, far better than the loss in December and January. If the forecasts are correct the dollar could rise. An outcome of fewer than 100,00 jobs would push the dollar lower. We will also pay attention to the average hourly earnings figures which will have an impact on the dollar’s path.

We wish you good trades and a beautiful weekend!