All Eyes on the Battle for the 160-Yen Mark in the Dollar-Yen Pair Ahead of the U.S. Employment Report

All Eyes on the Battle for the 160-Yen Mark in the Dollar-Yen Pair Ahead of the U.S. Employment Report

05.06.2026

In the U.S. currency market the previous day, concerns arose about a partial softening in the labor market after initial jobless claims rose to 225,000 from the previous reading of 212,000, exceeding market expectations.Meanwhile, driven by demand for safe-haven assets amid tensions in the Middle East and a wait-and-see attitude ahead of today’s U.S. employment report, the dollar-yen pair continued to trade near its high around 160 yen.In the Tokyo market, the pair traded within a range of 159.60 to 160.05 yen, settling near 159.90 yen as of 17:00.The immediate focus is on whether the pair can clearly break above the 160.00 psychological level; on the upside, the range from 160.00 to around 160.50 is likely to act as resistance. On the downside, the key will be whether the pair can hold above the range from 159.60 to around 159.00.The U.S. May employment report is scheduled for release today, and we will be watching to see if the U.S. dollar continues to trade at elevated levels.

European currencies were affected by concerns over weak consumer spending, as the eurozone’s April retail sales fell 0.4% month-on-month, down from the previous month’s 0.8% increase. Meanwhile, with expectations of an interest rate hike still lingering ahead of next week’s ECB meeting, the euro/dollar pair traded around 1.1600 as it sought direction.In the Tokyo session, the pair traded within a range of 1.1598 to 1.1612, settling in the low 1.1600s as of 17:00.The immediate focus for the EUR/USD pair is whether it can hold near 1.1600, with resistance likely around 1.1630 to 1.1650 and support around 1.1580 to 1.1560.Final eurozone GDP figures are scheduled for release today, and we will be looking to gauge the balance between concerns over an economic slowdown and the outlook for monetary policy.

Today’s key economic indicators include France’s April trade balance at 15:45, the eurozone’s Q1 GDP (final reading) at 18:00, the U.S. May nonfarm payrolls change, the U.S. May unemployment rate, and the U.S. May average hourly earnings,Canada’s May new employment figures and unemployment rate, the Ivey Purchasing Managers’ Index for May at 23:00, and remarks by Bank of England (BOE) Governor Bailey at 27:00.Particularly during New York trading hours, the U.S. employment report is likely to influence the direction of the USD/JPY pair around the 160 yen level; we will carefully assess the reactions of the U.S. dollar, the yen, and the euro while monitoring the employment figures, unemployment rate, and average hourly earnings together.