FOREX-Dollar poised for third straight daily gain ahead of US jobs report

"Across the Atlantic, U.S. labour market data also did little to shift the (interest rate) policy debate," said Stefan Koopman, senior macro strategist ​at Rabobank. WEAK DATA WEIGHS ON EURO On the euro front, recent inflation figures drove the single currency lower and German Bund yields to a one-month low.

The ‌dollar was on track to advance on Thursday for a third straight day, though mixed U.S. economic data left markets cautious ahead of Friday's nonfarm payrolls report. Data on Thursday showed the U.S. labour market appeared stuck in a "no hire, no fire" state, with job ⁠openings falling more than expected in November while hiring eased. However, services sector activity unexpectedly picked up in December, suggesting the economy ended 2025 on a solid footing.

The dollar index, which measures the U.S. currency against six rivals, was up 0.08% at 98.807 and set for its third straight rise. The dollar is coming off its worst annual performance since 2017, with analysts ​predicting another year of decline. "The U.S. economy still looks pretty good. A lot of the positioning in short U.S. dollar has already been done, and I think that's ‍going to prevent the dollar from getting significantly weaker going forward," said Jack Janasiewicz, lead portfolio strategist at Natixis.

"I think the winners could be some emerging market currencies more than the euro or the yen," he added. Traders are pricing in at least two rate cuts from the Federal Reserve this year, although a divided central bank indicated in December there would be only one cut in 2026. The Fed is expected to maintain ⁠rates at ‌its meeting this month. Markets have largely shrugged ⁠off geopolitical concerns after the U.S. intervention in Venezuela, focusing on economic data instead. However, risks that President Donald Trump's administration could be forced to refund more than $133.5 billion in tariffs to importers if the U.S. Supreme Court ‍this week declares his duties unlawful could resurface to hurt the greenback. "Across the Atlantic, U.S. labour market data also did little to shift the (interest rate) policy debate," said Stefan Koopman, senior macro strategist ​at Rabobank.

WEAK DATA WEIGHS ON EURO On the euro front, recent inflation figures drove the single currency lower and German Bund yields to a one-month low. The single ⁠currency was down 0.05% at $1.1670 on Thursday, after dropping by 0.45% in the last two sessions.

"The market's debate has tentatively shifted towards the possibility of a (European Central Bank rate) hike a year from now," Rabobank's Koopman added. "With headline ⁠inflation back at target and core edging lower, it remains difficult to justify pricing an imminent tightening cycle." The Japanese yen rose 0.05% at 156.70 per U.S. dollar as traders remained reluctant to place major bets before the release of economic reports.

"For those hoping for a significant appreciation of the yen, the only option for now is to wait ⁠for the conflict with China to cool down again," said Michael Pfister, forex strategist at Commerzbank. "The Chinese government could further escalate the conflict with a complete export ban on ⁠rare earths, which would deal a significant blow to ‌the yen," he added.

Shares in Japanese chemical manufacturers fell on Thursday while those of their Chinese rivals jumped after China said it was launching an anti-dumping probe into imports of chemicals used in chipmaking. The Australian dollar eased to $0.6704, just below the 15-month high it ⁠touched earlier this week, while the New Zealand dollar fell 0.13% to $0.5763.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)