Investing.com – The US dollar slipped slightly Thursday ahead of the release of more important labor market data, while the euro climbed slightly despite French political turmoil.
At 05:20 ET (10:20 GMT), the Dollar Index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six other currencies, traded 0.1% lower to 106.180.
Dollar hands back some gains
The dollar has handed back some of its recent gains in the wake of monthly private payrolls growing more slowly than expected while services sector activity slackened in November after posting gains in recent months.
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell indicated that the US economy is stronger now than the central bank had expected in September when it began reducing interest rates, suggesting a slower pace of interest-rate cuts ahead.
The market is still expecting a rate cut in December, but the weekly initial claims data later in the session and, more importantly, Friday’s nonfarm payrolls could help guide expectations of future rate moves.
“Weekly initial jobless claims have been staying very low recently, but tomorrow’s NFP jobs data will have a much bigger say in where the dollar goes next,” said analysts at ING, in a note.
Euro bounces despite French political crisis
In Europe, EUR/USD climbed 0.2% to 1.0532, climbing away from the two-year low of 1.0331 hit at the end of November even with French Prime Minister Michel Barnier set to resign after losing a no-confidence vote on Wednesday.
This could result in the delaying of fiscal restraint in the eurozone’s second largest economy, but the country’s massive budget deficit will have to be tackled at some point.
At the same time, data released earlier Thursday showed that German factory orders fell 1.5% in October, while French industrial production also slipped on a monthly basis, suggesting weak growth ahead.
The European Central Bank is widely expected to cut rates next week, and the market is pricing in over 150 basis points of easings by the end of 2025.
“We are still minded that short-term resistance at 1.0550 may be the extent of the EUR/USD recovery and see a case that EUR/USD hovers near 1.0500 over the coming days,” said ING, “given there seems to be more than $5bn of 1.0500 FX option strikes at that level expiring over the coming week.”
GBP/USD traded 0.2% higher to 1.2721, helped by UK construction activity data rising more than expected in November.
Won retreats again
In Asia, USD/JPY dropped 0.2% to 150.25, USD/CNY slipped 0.1% to 7.2709, and AUD/USD gained 0.2% to 0.6440.
USD/KRW rose 0.5% to 1,417.55, after the pair climbed to a two-year high on Wednesday, after South Korean President Yoon Suk-Yeol abruptly revoked an imposition of martial law amid public and political ire.
South Korea’s Finance Ministry has announced a 40 trillion won ($28.35 billion) market stabilization fund. The Bank of Korea may buy bonds and expand repo operations, with authorities ready to act under contingency plans if necessary.