Dollar Index Slips Before NFP Report

The US dollar index and its index futures slipped moments before the highly anticipated release of the NFP report. Despite the dollar’s slip up, traders are expecting the August jobs report to come out strong.

Economist forecasts an increase of 160,000 in employment for last month. However, temporary jobs from the U.S. census could leave numbers by 40,000 jobs.

Investors are speculating whether a contract in the labor force could push the FEB to ease on monetary policies. Meanwhile, the rest of the market is anxious about the effects of the US-China trade war on businesses.

The concerns caused the USD indices to contract in today’s trading. The US dollar index is sliding down 0.07% or 0.07 in sessions. While the US dollar index futures recorded a decline of 0.05% or 0.049 points this Friday.

The US Bureau of Labor Statistics is scheduled to issue the non-farm payroll this Friday at 12:30 GMT or 8:30 EDT. Analysts are expecting the unemployment rate to remain unchanged at 3.7% for August.

USD’s Run

The greenback underperformed in today’s trading, edging lower against other major currencies in Friday’s forex trading.

The EUR USD trading pair went up by 0.09%, or 0.0010 points, today, trading for $1.1042 in sessions. The pair reached ranges from $1.1030 to $1.1046 in Friday’s trading.

The AUD USD exchange rate also went up by 0.21% or 0.0014 points, exchanging for $0.6827. the AUD USD pair extended its rally from $0.6807 to $0.6828 in sessions.

Another currency that gained against the greenback it the Canadian dollar. The USD to CAD exchange rate went down by 0.17%, or 0.0022 points, in sessions, extending the USD’s losses from levels between CA$1.3205 and CA$1.3236.

Meanwhile, safe-haven assets such as the Swiss franc, Japanese yen, and the British pound sterling lost against the greenback. The USD CHF is seen inching its way up by 0.14%, or 0.0014 points, in sessions, trading for Fr0.9872.

The faltering Japanese yen also did not stand a chance against the greenback in Friday’s trading. The USD JPY edged up by 0.06% or 0.06 points, trading for ¥106.98 in sessions.

And lastly, the GBP USD trading pair recorded a fall of 0.15% or 0.0018 points, extending its losses from $1.2297 to $1.2344 in today’s trading.