What’s next? – USDJPY 04.05.18

The dollar was trading 0.09 percent lower vs the Japanese yen at 109.08 as of 06:50 GMT on Friday, with market participants awaiting key labor market data later in the day.

In the previous session, the dollar paused its decline on the back of higher geopolitical tensions. Chinese and US trade representatives met in Beijing to polish current differences between governments and their policies.

The US dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a basket of six major competitors, was unchanged at 92.26 by the time of this writing.

On the data front, initial jobless came in at 211,000 against an estimated 225,000 and a previous 209,000. Trade balance for March showed a deficit of $49 billion, a bit less than the $50 billion seen and the prior $57.70 billion.

In other news, services PMI for April established at 54.6 points, above an estimated reading of 54.4 points. Durable goods orders came in line with expectations at 2.6 percent. Factory orders rose 1.6 percent in March. The ISM manufacturing PMI fell short on its forecast at 56.8 points.

The dollar was affected by less-hawkish-than-expected Federal Reserve remarks on Wednesday. Despite the US regulator acknowledged inflation is moving closer to its target.

Ahead in today’s session, investors will be looking at average hourly earnings, nonfarm payrolls and the unemployment rate as of 12:30 GMT.

Bullish data might positively influence the dollar and push the pair higher. However, it is highly advised to wait until the report is published before making any bet.

FortFS