Key Updates for Wednesday, June 3rd
The United States dollar (USD) has maintained its position as markets respond to escalating tensions in the Middle East. Today’s economic calendar will include reports on ADP employment changes, the ISM Services PMI for May, and April factory orders data. In addition, the Federal Reserve is set to release its beige book.
USD Performance This Week
The table below captures the percentage changes of the US dollar against major currencies this week, with the USD showing strength particularly against the New Zealand dollar.
| USD | EUR | GBP | JPY | CAD | Australian Dollar | New Zealand Dollar | Swiss Franc | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| USD | 0.36% | 0.10% | 0.37% | 0.38% | 0.23% | 1.23% | 1.05% | |
| EUR | -0.36% | -0.26% | -0.02% | 0.02% | -0.13% | 0.89% | 0.69% | |
| GBP | -0.10% | 0.26% | 0.28% | 0.28% | 0.13% | 1.16% | 0.94% | |
| JPY | -0.37% | 0.02% | -0.28% | 0.05% | -0.09% | 0.88% | 0.68% | |
| CAD | -0.38% | -0.02% | -0.28% | -0.05% | -0.17% | 0.83% | 0.65% | |
| Australian Dollar | -0.23% | 0.13% | -0.13% | 0.09% | 0.17% | 1.02% | 0.82% | |
| New Zealand Dollar | -1.23% | -0.89% | -1.16% | -0.88% | -0.83% | -1.02% | -0.22% | |
| Swiss Franc | -1.05% | -0.69% | -0.94% | -0.68% | -0.65% | -0.82% | 0.22% |
The heat map highlights the percentage changes among major currencies, using the left column for the base currency and the top row for the quote currency. For instance, if you start with USD and look towards Japanese Yen, the value in the box reflects the change of USD against JPY.
In military news, the U.S. Central Command has confirmed it executed a “self-defense” strike on Qeshm Island in Iran following a drone attack on U.S. forces stationed in Kuwait, successfully destroying multiple missiles and drones. Furthermore, Iran reportedly launched three missiles aimed at Bahrain, but these were intercepted by defenses from both the U.S. and Bahrain.
Data released on Tuesday indicated a rise in JOLTS job openings, increasing from 6.88 million in March to 7.6 million in April. This figure surpassed analysts’ expectations. Meanwhile, the US dollar index recorded a modest rise, now at 99.35, with stock futures dipping slightly by 0.1%-0.2%. For oil, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) saw a rise of about 2%, exceeding $93.50.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics announced that the GDP grew by 0.3% in the first quarter, following a 0.9% increase in the last quarter of 2025. This was below analysts’ expectations of 0.5%. Consequently, the Australian dollar was under bearish pressure around 0.7150, down around 0.4% today.
The euro/USD, after being nearly unchanged yesterday, continued to slide, approaching 1.1600 this morning during European trading. In contrast, the GBP/USD managed to post slight gains yesterday, although it fell back to below 1.3450 in early trading today.
In Japan, Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama stated that authorities are prepared to intervene in foreign exchange markets if necessary. Currently, USD/JPY is hovering around 160.00, which is the highest since the government’s last intervention on April 30.
As for gold (XAU/USD), it struggled to recover on Tuesday, finishing almost flat, and has shown a downward trend today, moving closer to $4,450.
