A big end to the week coming up, with focus turning to the US.

The EUR/USD showed some signs of life, climbing back above $1.15 overnight. The pair opened at $1.14756 and slid to an early low of $1.14621. It steadily climbed off those lows and reached a high of $1.15421 late in the session before re-tracing to its current level of $1.15159. The GBP/USD was more pronounced in its movements as it followed a similar path to the euro. The pair opened at $1.29368 and declined to an early low of $1.29207. It remained flat for a few hours before beginning its rally, peaking at $1.30404 late in the day. It has come off those highs slightly, currently trading at $1.30217.

The Dow is struggling for consistency, giving up some of the gains made earlier in the week. The index opened at 26,806.76 and bumped up to an opening-hour high of 26,811.26 before remaining largely flat throughout early and mid-session trading. The Dow then took a turn for the worse sinking to a low of 26,464.19 late before mounting a spirited rally to be currently trading at 26,655.20. The Dax showed signs of volatility after being closed the previous day due to a public holiday in Germany. The index opened at 12,247.38 and sharply fell to lows of 12,167.40 in the opening hour. The Dax quickly recovered and rallied over the next few hours until it reached highs of 12,345.90. However, it gave up most of those gains as quickly as they were gained, the index falling to near session lows of 12,194.99 before closing 12,218.60.

The day ahead is full of data releases, where the most significant is emanating from the US. The US is publishing employment-related data, including Non-Farm Payrolls, Average Hourly Earnings and Unemployment Rate. This set of data is vital as the Fed Reserve uses this data to help it set monetary policy for the economy. The economy is expected to add 185,000 jobs for the month, while the wages are expected to grow by a solid 0.3%. Other data set for release today includes:

UK – Halifax HPI

Japan – Leading Indicators

Australia – Retail Sales, HIA New Home Sales

Canada – Trade Balance, Employment Change, Unemployment Rate

US – Trade Balance, Consumer Credit, FOMC Member Raphael Bostic speaks

Europe – German Factory Orders, German PPI, French Trade & Government Budget Balance, Italian Retail Sales, Swiss CPI & Foreign Currency Reserves

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