Forex Trading

The forex market is expected to be extremely volatile today, as the U.S. releases the results of the Non-Farm Employment Change at 12:30 GMT. The EUR Minimum Bid Rate at 11:45 GMT and U.S. Unemployment Claims at 12:30 GMT are also expected to dominate trading for the USD, EUR, and GBP crosses. Traders are advised to enter the main currency pairs now in order to profit from risk appetite.



USD - Dollar Plummets on Release of Poor Economic Data

The Dollar index continued its decline yesterday, trading at 79.619, down from 80.179 late Wednesday. The drop followed the release of the ADP Non-Farm Employment Change which showed worse than expected results. The drop was exacerbated by China's request to discuss the issue of a new global currency at next week's G8 Summit in Italy.

Increased risk appetite has been dominating trading lately, despite much pessimistic
economic data. Recent bullishness in the stock markets helped fuel risk appetite among investors, putting further downward pressure on the Dollar. Worse than expected results no longer automatically push investors back to the safety of the Dollar, as risk tolerance remains high on positive equity prices. Furthermore, negative data from the U.S., along with an over-expanding budget deficit and inflation fears have caused concern over the greenback's long term prospects. As a result, this has further dampened Dollar sentiment.

With several major news releases ahead of the July 4th weekend, including the U.S Non Farm Employment Change and Unemployment Rate due at 12:30 GMT, and the ECB Press Conference at the same time, Thursday is expected to be a volatile trading day which may intensify the current trends.

EUR - EUR Boosted By Increased Risk Appetite

The EUR continued its advance against the USD yesterday, reaching its highest level in nearly a month. The European currency received an additional boost after the release of better than expected results from German Retail Sales. Since Germany is the largest economy in the Euro-Zone, it tends to have significant effects on EUR movements.

The EUR/USD pair hit as high as $1.4201 after the release of the U.S. ADP Non-Farm Employment Change report, which showed worse than expected results. However, the EUR/USD finished trading at 1.4115, whilst the the Pound Sterling was at $1.6464 from $1.6449.

Traders should pay close attention to the ECB Press Conference at 12:30 GMT as monetary policy and economic outlook will be discussed. Although the Interest Rate is expected to remain unchanged at 1%, the statement will provide insight to the Bank's new covered-bond purchase program, as well as the progress of the quantitative easing program. This will provide direction for the EUR by possibly extending its recent gains.

JPY - JPY Gains against USD Ahead of Crucial U.S. Data Releases

The Yen gained against the Dollar ahead of the release of the U.S Non Farm Employment Change and Unemployment Rate which may show that unemployment in the U.S rose to the highest level in 25 years. To a certain extent, this spurred demand for the safety of the JPY. Traders should be aware that the USD/JPY pair will be the main pair to watch today as data is released from the U.S.

The Japanese currency has been suffering recently due to increased optimism and risk appetite among investors, who traded the relatively safe JPY for higher yielding riskier currencies. Although risk tolerance remains high in the market, worse than expected results from the U.S and Euro-Zone may help extend the JPY's gains throughout the day.

Crude Oil - Crude falls Below $70 on Release of Inventories Data

Crude Oil fell by over $2.50, or 5%, to $69.01 a barrel on Wednesday. The drop came after the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) released a report showing that Crude Oil Inventories are 18.3% higher than last year. Despite falling inventories in the past 4 weeks, demand continues to be weak, whilst supply remains abundant.

Despite recent gains in the equity markets and the continued weakness of the Dollar, Oil has had difficulties sustaining prices above $72. This is as demand continues to lag and inventories remain high. Today's trading session may provide some boost to Oil prices as U.S unemployment data which is set to be released today may exacerbate the Dollar's recent bearish trend.

Article Source - U.S. Non-Farm Employment Change Data to Drive USD Volatility Today