US Dollar consolidates losses, CAD awaits employment data

The US Dollar holds steady on the last trading of the way after having suffered large losses against its major rivals on Thursday. There won’t be any high-tier data releases from the Eurozone nor the US ahead of the weekend. In the early American session, Statistics Canada will release the jobs report for May.

Initial Jobless Claims in the US jumped to 261,000 in the week ending June 3 from 233,000, the US Department of Labor reported on Thursday. The benchmark 10-year US Treasury bond yield fell more than 2% after this data and the US Dollar Index (DXY) dropped to its lowest level in two weeks below 103.50, losing 0.75% in the process. Early Friday, the 10-year US yield stays below 3.75% and DXY fluctuates in a narrow channel at around 103.40. Meanwhile, US stock index futures trade in negative territory, pointing to a cautious market stance.

During the Asian trading hours on Friday, the data from China showed that the Consumer Price Index (CPI) declined by 0.2% on a monthly basis in May. This reading failed to trigger a noticeable market reaction. AUD/USD, which extended its weekly rally and gained 150 pips on Thursday, stays relatively calm slightly above 0.6700 early Friday.

Swiss National Bank (SNB) Chairman Thomas Jordan said on Thursday it would not be a good idea to wait for inflation to rise and then have to raise interest rates. These comments provided a boost to the CHF and USD/CHF lost more than 100 pips. Early Friday, the pair trades below 0.9000.

USD/CAD closed the third straight day in negative territory on Thursday and continues to edge lower early Friday. The pair was last seen trading slightly below 1.3350. The Unemployment Rate in Canada is forecast to tick up to 5.1% in May from 5% April.

Canada Unemployment Rate Preview: Canadian Dollar traders to scrutinize jobs report.

EUR/USD benefited from the broad USD weakness on Thursday and rose toward 1.0800 before going into a consolidation phase. In the European morning, the pair moves up and down in a narrow band above 1.0750.

GBP/USD is finding it difficult to build on Thursday’s gains and holds steady at around 1.2550.

USD/JPY fell to a fresh weekly low below 139.00 on Thursday but regained its traction early Friday. As of writing, the pair was up 0.4% on the day at 139.50.

Gold price rose sharply toward $1,970 on Thursday, boosted by the retreating US T-bond yields. XAU/USD moves sideways near mid-$1,960s in the European morning.

Bitcoin continues to move sideways near $26,500 for the second straight day on Friday. Similarly, Ethereum remains rangeboud slightly above $1,800.