A big end to the week coming up, with attention focussed on the US as we round out another week.

Investors piled into the USD overnight, sending paired currencies down. The EURUSD began the day at $1.20624 and edged up to a high of $1.20652 early. It remained steady for most of the day until falling sharply late in the piece, hitting lows of $1.19606. It is now trading at $1.19674. The GBPUSD opened at $1.39508 and was steady during the first half of the day. Mid-session trading saw the pound climb to a high of $1.40163. That was met with a sharp sell-off which saw the pound tumble to lows of $1.38793 late. It is currently trading at $1.38926.

The Dow looked steady until a late sell-off sent the index packing. It started the day at 31,261.53 and traded in a tight range for most of the day, edging up to a high of 31,460.30 late. A sell-off ensued which saw the Dow plummet to lows of 30,541.50. It has come off those lows and is now trading at 30,794.23. The Dax was able to withstand the tumult that was occurring across the Atlantic, ending the day rather flat. The German index opened at 13,986.90 and slipped to lows of 13,898.48 early. It bounced off those lows and peaked at 14,098.27 late. Those highs did not last long as the Dax ultimately closed at 13,977.39. It opened Friday lower and is trading at 13,906.60.

The day ahead sees the release of employment data from the US. The Non-Farm Employment Change figure is expected to show that 197,000 jobs were added over the previous month. The US Unemployment Rate is tipped to remain steady at 6.3% while Average Hourly Earnings are expected to grow by 0.2%.

Other data published today includes:

US – Trade Balance, Consumer Credit

Canada – Trade Balance, Ivey PMI

UK – Halifax HPI, MPC Member Jonathan Haskel speaks

Europe – German Factory Orders, French Trade Balance, Swiss Foreign Currency Reserves

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