• Solid
  US job growth: The strong March job numbers hint at robust economic health
  which will potentially delay Fed rate cuts.
• Bond
  yields: Strong growth and higher commodities have pushed yields higher, which
  increases appeal for the dollar.
• Market
  dynamics: Despite a brief delay, there is potential for significant technical
  breaches in key major pairs which suggest readiness for the dollar to
  strengthen, especially if CPI points higher this week.
• Central
  bank policies: Expected dovish shifts from the ECB and BoC contrast with that
  of the Fed and should enhance dollar attractiveness

One risk to
a higher dollar this week is if a strong CPI pushes USDJPY into 152 and
triggers possible intervention. That should only mean short-term pressure on
the dollar but a risk worth considering.

Also think watching global growth is important
for the dollar. There have been green shoots in the data in other parts of the
world which explains some of the recent dollar weakness as well.

This article was written by Arno V Venter at www.forexlive.com.

1. Self-employment drove the weakness (29k drop), which offset a 27k rise in private sector (15k) and public sector (12k) jobs.
2. The soft headline was driven by youths’ (aged 15-24) falling 28k. As youths do not have the same impact in housing and consumer markets, the implication for the drop in youths’ employment isn’t as bad as it would have been if the losses were in the 25+ age group.
3. Quebec youths drove most of the softness by showing 18k fewer jobs.
4. Wages still grew by 4.5%, which is still running at over twice the BoC’s 2% inflation target.

With this
in mind the bank doesn’t think that Friday’s report changes anything for the
BoC.

I agree that one jobs print shouldn’t change
anything, especially looking at the details under the hood. But when we combine
Friday’s job report with the recent CPI deceleration and the lower expectations
of higher inflation by Canadian businesses seen in the Business Outlook survey,
it gives the bank the cover it needs to sound more dovish.

This article was written by Arno V Venter at www.forexlive.com.

The bank
thinks that EURUSD is expensive at current levels, but unless we get strong
guidance for deeper cuts after June the impact might be more short-lived. I share their sentiment in this regard.

They think
that the pair would need an equity-sell off as well as an official start to the
ECB’s rate cutting cycle for a move lower.

There is a
greater chance of a move towards 1.07 compared to a break higher to 1.09.

Personally, I think a lot of bad news is priced
for the EUR, but time will tell.

This article was written by Arno V Venter at www.forexlive.com.

• The Fed left interest rates unchanged as expected at the last meeting with basically no
  change to the statement. The Dot Plot still showed three rate cuts for 2024 and
  the economic projections were upgraded with growth and inflation higher and the
  unemployment rate lower.
• Fed Chair Powell maintained a neutral stance as he said that it was
  premature to react to the recent inflation data given possible bumps on the way
  to their 2% target.
• The US CPI and the US PPI beat expectations for the second
  consecutive month.
• The US NFP beat expectations across the board
  although the average hourly earnings came in line with forecasts.
• The US ISM Manufacturing PMI beat expectations by a big margin with
  the prices component continuing to increase, while the US ISM Services PMI missed with the price index dropping to
  the lowest level in 4 years.
• There’s now basically a 50/50 chance of a rate cut
  in June.

NZD

• The RBNZ kept its official cash rate
  unchanged dropping
  the tightening bias and stating that the OCR will need to remain at restrictive
  level for a sustained period.
• The latest New Zealand inflation data printed in line with expectations
  supporting the RBNZ’s patient stance.
• The labour market report beat expectations across the
  board with lower than expected unemployment rate and higher wage growth.
• The Manufacturing PMI improved in February remaining in
  contraction while the Services PMI increased further holding on in
  expansion.
• The market expects the first cut in
  August.

NZDUSD Technical Analysis –
Daily Timeframe

On the daily chart, we can see that NZDUSD rallied
all the way back to retest the broken support zone now turned
resistance where we have also the confluence of the
38.2% Fibonacci retracement level
and the red 21 moving average. This is
where we can expect the sellers to step in with a defined risk above the
Fibonacci level to position for a drop into new lows. The buyers, on the other
hand, will want to see the price breaking higher to start targeting the 0.6218 resistance.

NZDUSD Technical Analysis –
4 hour Timeframe

On the 4
hour chart, we can see that we got a rejection of the resistance recently and a
pullback into the 50% Fibonacci retracement level and the red 21 moving
average. The price bounced from that support zone following a goldilocks NFP
report and rallied all the way back into the resistance zone. If we get another
rejection from the resistance, we can expect the buyers to lean on the trendline with a
defined risk below it to position for a breakout with a better risk to reward
setup. The sellers, on the other hand, will want to see the price breaking
lower to increase the bearish bets into new lows.

NZDUSD Technical Analysis –
1 hour Timeframe

On the 1 hour chart, we can see that we
have another trendline which has been defining the recent uptrend following the
NFP release. If the price breaks the trendline, we can expect the sellers to
pile in with more conviction to position for a drop into the next trendline.
The buyers, on the other hand, will likely continue to lean on the trendline to
print new higher highs and higher lows.

Upcoming Events

Tomorrow we get the RBNZ Rate Decision, the US CPI
report and the FOMC Minutes. On Thursday, we will have the US PPI and the
latest US Jobless Claims figures. On Friday, we conclude the week with the New
Zealand Manufacturing PMI and the University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment
Survey.

This article was written by FL Contributors at www.forexlive.com.

• Italy cuts 2024 GDP growth forecast to 1% vs previous 1.2% target set in September
• Italy confirms deficit-to-GDP ratio at 4.3% in 2024
• Italy sees 2025 deficit at 3.7% of GDP
• Italy cuts 2024 debt-to-GDP ratio to 137.8% vs previous 140.1%
• Italy sees 2025 debt at 138.9% of GDP

This article was written by Arno V Venter at www.forexlive.com.