US Dollar softer after Job Cuts tick up again

LONDON (December 5) The US Dollar (USD) trades softer this Thursday as the Greek tragedy of the French political scene unravels further. With the French government led by Prime Minister Michel Barnier out of the way, French President Emmanuel Macron begins the search for a new prime minister. In the US side,  Federal Reserve (Fed) Chairman Jerome Powell warned that the US debt is on an unsustainable path and needs to be addressed.  

On the economic data front, a calmer calendar is ahead compared to that of the past few days. the main elements will be the weekly Jobless Claims and the Challenger Job Cuts for November, as well as the Trade Balance data. Employment-related data could be important ahead of the Nonfarm Payrolls print on Friday. 

Daily digest market movers: Job Cuts tick up

• The Challenger Job Cuts report for November came in more bearish than the October one. The November number came in at 57,727.00 layoffs against the 55,597.00 layoffs seen in October. 
• Paul Atkins has been nominated to become the Chair of the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) by President-elect Donald Trump. Bitcoin (BTC) got fired up on the back of that news and broke above $100,000 for the first time. Paul Atkins is known for being a Bitcoin enthusiast. 
• Weekly Jobless Claims data for the week ending November 29 is expected around 13:30 GMT. Expectations are for a small uptick to 215,000 from 213,000 last week. 
• Equities trade very mixed this Thursday. Despite the French political turmoil, European stocks are up near 0.50%. US Futures are still looking for direction, trading flat ahead of the US Opening Bell. 
• The CME FedWatch Tool is pricing in another 25 basis points (bps) rate cut by the Fed at the December 18 meeting by 74.0%. A 26.0% chance is for rates to remain unchanged. The Fed Minutes and recent comments from several Fed officials have helped the rate cut odds for December to move higher. 
• The US 10-year benchmark rate trades at 4.21%, roughly in the middle of this week’s range between 4.16% and 4.28%.

FXStreet