Article by ForexTime

Markets will mainly focus on the release of US non-farm payrolls data later today. However, the report’s potential effect on the prospects of the Federal Reserve raising interest rates this year has been blunted by the UK’s Brexit vote, which has increased uncertainty about the economy and financial markets.

There are forecasts for a 150,000 gain in jobs for the month of June in the US, partly because of the return of 35,000 Verizon workers who were excluded from the payrolls in May. As such, the unemployment rate is expected to remain unchanged at 4.7 percent.

The US dollar weakened against most major currencies in Asian Session trading but remained on track for a weekly gain if the US jobs data later today come in stronger than expected.

Data already out early on Friday showed Japan’s current account surplus narrowed slightly in May, but by less than expected. Japan posted an unadjusted current account surplus of 1.81tn yen, down from 1.88tn in April, and ahead of an average of economists’ expectations for a 1.52bn surplus.

USDJPY was 0.2 percent higher at 100.83 yen, still holding above its post-Brexit low of 99 yen hit on June 24.

EURUSD gained 0.1 percent to $1.1071.

GBPUSD traded at $1.2942 , holding above 31-year lows logged earlier this week. Sterling is expected to remain under pressure in the coming months as the Bank of England prepares to ease monetary policy to deal with the negative impact of the Brexit vote on the currency.

The Aussie stabilized around $0.7499 after weakening on the news that ratings agency S&P downgraded the outlook on Australia’s AAA credit rating to negative from stable.

Article by ForexTime

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