Euro Dollar Trading Driven By French Parliamentary Elections and Federal Reserve
  • Euro (EUR) rises for 4th straight session
  • Still no US election result, although could come today
  • German industrial production growth weaker than forecast
  • US NFP also due late today with 650k new jobs

The Euro US Dollar (EUR/USD) exchange rate is extending gains for a fourth straight session on Friday. The pair settled 0.8% higher in the previous session at US$1.1821. At 08:15 UTC, EUR/USD trades +0.2% at US$1.1851. The pair is on track to gain 1.7% across the week after falling 1.8% the previous week.

The race to the White House is very much in focus. No winner has been announced although the Joe Biden has extended his lead. Meanwhile Tump has spoken out claiming the entire election was rigged against him. The final result could be announced later today.

In Europe, covid cases continue to surge despite national lockdowns in France & Germany and data provided fresh evidence that the recovery from the pandemic in the Eurozone’s largest economy is slowing. German data once again showed weaker than expected growth. German industrial production increased 1.6% MoM in September, softer than the 2.7% growth expected. The data comes after German Factory orders increased less than expected.

US non-farm payrolls are due to be released later, although they could well be overshadowed by any developments in the US election. The October US labour market report is expected to show that the labour market recovery continues to slow.

The NFP is expected to show 600k new jobs were added to the US economy in October. Meanwhile the unemployment rate is expected to decline from 7.9% to 7.7%. Lead indicators have been mixed. The ADP report showed that a much weaker than expected 365k new private sector jobs, well off the 650k forecast. On the other hand, initial jobless claims have remained below 800k and the most encouraging lead indicator has been the employment sub-component of the ISM non-manufacturing PMI which jumped signififcsntly higher to 53.2, from 49.6.

A stronger than forecast reading could lift sentiment, boosting US stock markets higher, whilst dragging on the safe haven US Dollar.