Here’s what you need to know on Thursday, February 12th.
The US reported a surprisingly strong non-farm payrolls figure for January, adding 130,000 jobs. This marks a positive beginning to the year, with the unemployment rate dropping to 4.3% and average hourly wages remaining stable at 3.7% year-over-year.
Despite this encouraging jobs report, the dollar index (DXY) is trading a bit lower, around 96.80. It seems that ongoing dovish sentiments concerning the US Federal Reserve (Fed) for the latter half of the year are dampening market enthusiasm.
USD price today
Below is a summary of the percentage changes of the US dollar (USD) against other major currencies today, with the USD showing strength particularly against the Swiss franc.
| USD | EUR | GBP | JPY | CAD | AUD | NZD | CHF | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| USD | 0.10% | 0.06% | -0.96% | 0.05% | -0.85% | -0.22% | 0.30% | |
| EUR | -0.10% | -0.05% | -1.09% | -0.05% | -0.94% | -0.33% | 0.20% | |
| GBP | -0.06% | 0.05% | -1.04% | -0.00% | -0.90% | -0.28% | 0.24% | |
| JPY | 0.96% | 1.09% | 1.04% | 1.04% | 0.12% | 0.79% | 1.30% | |
| CAD | -0.05% | 0.05% | 0.00% | -1.04% | -0.91% | -0.26% | 0.22% | |
| AUD | 0.85% | 0.94% | 0.90% | -0.12% | 0.91% | 0.62% | 1.15% | |
| NZD | 0.22% | 0.33% | 0.28% | -0.79% | 0.26% | -0.62% | 0.53% | |
| CHF | -0.30% | -0.20% | -0.24% | -1.30% | -0.22% | -1.15% | -0.53% |
The table illustrates the percentage changes between key currencies. The left column indicates the base, and the top row lists the quote currency. For instance, selecting USD from the left and moving to JPY along the top shows the percentage change for USD (base) against JPY (quoted).
Currently, USD/JPY is around 152.80, inching down close to two-week lows following Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s significant election win.
AUD/USD is hovering near the 0.7130 mark, achieving a three-year peak, bolstered by the release of China’s consumer price index (CPI) — since China is a key trading partner for Australia.
On the other hand, EUR/USD is trading around 1.1880, retreating from a recent weekly high as it adjusts some losses following the NFP report.
GBP/USD has shown little movement today, staying around 1.3640 as the market anticipates the UK’s preliminary GDP data due out today.
Gold prices are floating around $5,092, slightly increasing even in light of the US jobs report.
Upcoming events to note:
Thursday 12:
- UK gross domestic product (GDP) for Q4 will be released.
Friday 13:
- RBNZ Inflation Expectations for Q1.
- Swiss January CPI data.
- Eurozone preliminary GDP for the fourth quarter.
- US January CPI report.
