FX Daily Wrap Up

The US Dollar traded in an extremely tight range today against the Euro due to the anticipation of tomorrow’s key Non-Farm Payroll report. In the early morning sessions, the EUR/USD cross was stable, with range-bound trading hovering in the 1.3030 range when Dollar bulls started a very slow movement to the day’s low of 1.2995. A short-lived mid-day spike hit the high of 1.3055 before dropping back within seconds of reaching that mark. The pair closed out at 1.3018 heading into the Asian session. The Non-Farm Payroll (NFP) report is a good indicator of the employment rate and overall strength of the labor market, as it represents all business employees excluding general government employees, private household employees, and employees of nonprofit organizations. The rest of the workforce accounts for the more than 80% who contribute to GDP. The full report also includes estimates on the average work week and weekly earnings of these employees. The NFP report is a good general indicator of the health of the economy, and is often a sharp indicator and market mover in FOREX trading. Current estimates are that the NFP will decline slightly from last month or possibly stay at the same rate. David Hilgeman, XPRESSTRADE Analyst