The Dollar weakened on Friday due to disappointing US Labour data, enabling both Sterling and the Euro to advance. Cable comfortably surpassed the 1.41 handle on the day, while EURUSD was able to close the week way above the 1.2150 mark at 1.2163. A rise in US Continuing Jobless Claims on Thursday was the first indication that Friday’s Non-Farm Payroll (NFP) figure may disappoint. NFP for the month of May came in at 559K, with a forecast of 650K. This data release led to a heavy sell-off of the Greenback and allowed the Pound and Euro to capitalize. An improvement in the Unemployment Rate, which fell to 5.8% from 6.1%, did little to help the Dollar going into the weekend.
GBPUSD started Friday at 1.4086 and traded relatively calm through the morning session. After the NFP release at 13:30 Cable roofed, going beyond 1.41 and finding tough resistance at 1.42. The pair finally closed the week at 1.4171 after a volatile week.
GBPEUR in contrast had a rather quiet session. The pair opened the day at 1.1634 and finished at 1.1651.
Friday also saw EURUSD reclaim some of the recent losses. The pair started session at 1.2107 and closed the week at 1.2163.
On the data front this week, it’s a dull schedule on Monday, with almost no notable releases except from US Consumer Credit Change at 20:00, forecasted to come in at $21B. On Tuesday however, Eurozone GDP Growth Rate and Germany’s ZEW Economic Sentiment Index is likely to give the Euro fresh direction. QoQ 3rd Estimate for Eurozone GDP is forecasted to come in at -1.8%, with a previous of -4.9%. As for the German ZEW, the figure is expected at 85.3, with a previous of 84.4.
