Market Participants May Keep a Close Eye on Currency Strength and Weakness Amid a Three-Day Weekend in Europe and the U.S.

Market Participants May Keep a Close Eye on Currency Strength and Weakness Amid a Three-Day Weekend in Europe and the U.S.

07.04.2023

In the U.S. currency market yesterday, the U.S. dollar rose against the yen after the U.S. Challenger job cuts figure for March, released yesterday, showed a significant decline from the previous reading. The USD/JPY pair rose by approximately 110 pips, from 130.780 to 131.917.This rally was further supported by remarks from St. Louis Fed President Braad, who emphasized the need for continued interest rate hikes, causing the pair to rebound to the 75-period moving average on the hourly chart. As the pair has been trading sideways during today’s Asian session, all eyes are on the U.S. employment report due during U.S. trading hours to see if it provides a clearer sense of direction.

European currencies rose against the yen as Germany’s February industrial production, released yesterday, came in at a 0.6% year-over-year increase, exceeding market expectations. The euro showed momentum after breaking above the 200-period SMA on the hourly chart.During today’s Asian trading session, the pair is trading around 143.710. Given that the daily chart shows a pattern of higher lows, we will carefully monitor whether price action becomes more active heading into the weekend.

Today's economic indicators include France's trade balance and current account balance at 15:45,at 20:30: India’s foreign exchange reserves; at 21:00: Poland’s central bank foreign exchange reserves; at 21:30: U.S. employment statistics; at 25:00: Russia’s fourth-quarter GDP; and at 28:00: U.S. consumer credit balances.Please note that today, due to Easter, markets in major Western countries—including the UK, the U.S., and Germany—are closed. With Western markets on a three-day holiday, we will carefully assess currency strength and weakness.