What’s next? – USDJPY 01.06.18

The dollar was trading 0.36 percent higher vs the yen at 109.20 as of 08:45 GMT on Friday, with players preparing for labor market data later in the session.

The pair is likely to remain in a narrow range ahead of labor data as this report is expected to affect expectations on further monetary policy changes in the United States.

Meanwhile, concerns over Italy’s political future continued to ease as the recently elected Prime Minister seemed confident in the formation of a unified government to avoid snap elections.

The US dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a basket of six major competitors, was up 0.01 percent at 93.97 by the time of this writing.

In other news, the Trump administration said tariffs on steel and aluminum imports would be applied to Canada, Mexico and the European Union.

The safe-haven demand (yen) also came under pressure as the Trump administration reinforced the idea that the Trump-Kim summit in Singapore remained on track.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo tweeted: “The proposed summit offers a historic opening for [the President] and Chairman Kim to boldly lead US and DPRK into a new era of peace, prosperity, and security.”

The Labor Department will present its employment figures for May at 12:30 GMT, including nonfarm payrolls, the participation and unemployment rate and average hourly earnings. ISM manufacturing PMI for May is due at 14:00 GMT.

FortFS