Another week packed full of data, with the Non-Farm data from the US being the most crucial.

The EUR/USD struggled on Friday, giving up the strong gains it made earlier in the week. The pair opened at $1.13919 and rose to an early high of $1.13998. It then began to slide after that, before the losses accelerated, with the euro falling to a low of $1.13045. It has opened higher this morning, due to a weakening USD and is currently trading at $1.13412. The GBP/USD continues to underwhelm, after opening at $1.27841. The pair remained flat early, before rising to a high of $1.28093 mid-session. The pound reversed those gains as it fell for most of the session, hitting a low of $1.27341. It opened higher this morning but has quickly dropped again and is currently trading at $1.27374.

The Dow ended the week strongly after a mixed week. The index opened at 25,356.86 and was flat early, before falling to a low of 25,199.20 mid-session. It bounced off that low as the Dow surged in late trading, peaking at 25,571.30 and closing at 25,566.30. The Dax weakened on Friday, but made some gains after a horrible open. The German index opened at a high of 11,334.30 and fell to a low of 11,206.60 just a few hours later. It mounted a spirited comeback from that point, climbing for most of the session, closing at 11,316.80.

The week ahead sees the release of a stack of data, but it is the US Non-Farm Employment Change data on Friday that has most observers watching with keen interest. As this data plays a key role in helping to determine monetary policy settings in the US, this data has the potential to cause plenty of volatility. Data published today and the most significant this week includes:

Today – Japanese Capital Spending and Final Manufacturing PMI, Australian MI Inflation Gauge, Building Approvals, Company Operating Profits, ANZ Job Advertisements and Commodity Prices, China Caixin Manufacturing PMI, UK Manufacturing PMI, Swiss Retail Sales and Manufacturing PMI, Italian & Spanish Manufacturing PMIs, European, German and French Final Manufacturing PMIs, US ISM Manufacturing PMI, FOMC Members John Williams, Randal Quarles and Richard Clarida speak

Tuesday – Australian Cash Rate and RBA Rate Statement, BoE Governor Mark Carney speaks

Wednesday – Australian GDP, ECB President Mario Draghi speaks

Thursday – US ISM Non-Manufacturing PMI, BoC Overnight Rate and Rate Statement, Australian Retail Sales, OPEC Meetings, Fed Chair Jerome Powell testifies

Friday – US Non-Farm Employment Change, Average Hourly Earnings and Unemployment Rate, Canadian Employment Change, Unemployment Rate and Trade Balance, Fed Chair Jerome Powell and BoC Governor Stephen Poloz speaks

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