With all eyes focused on today’s release of US labor data, the US Dollar firmed against the Japanese Yen and touched on a 6-week peak. Analysts expect that the greenback is poised for a modest gain for the week, provided that the NFP data meets or exceeds expectations. Hopes for an upbeat report have been raised since the release of ADP data which beat analysts’ forecasts. If the NFP report hits the mark, investors will expect that the Federal Reserve could raise interest rates at next week’s policy meeting. Several of the FOMC members which vote on policy decisions have already expressed an opinion on hiking the rate sooner rather than later.

As reported at 10:40 am (JST) in Tokyo, the USD/JPY pair edged up 0.11% to trade at 115.193 Yen, not far from the recently struck peak of 115.24 Yen. The AUD/USD was up 0.27% to trade at $0.7523 while the NZD/USD was trading at $0.6907, up 0.09%.

Optimistic Draghi Pushes Euro Higher

The EUR/USD was up 0.12% and was trading at $1.0588. For the week, the Euro is set to close lower though it did edge higher on Thursday. The Euro’s recovery came after Mario Draghi, the head of the ECB, pulled back from previous rhetoric regarding the “urgent” need to induce growth. The ECB also optimistically raised its growth profile and inflation outlook for the next year which helped to improve investor sentiment. The EUR/GBP was up at 0.8713 Pence, a gain of 0.15%.