The U.S. Employment Report was the most important event on the last session of the week. The all-important release came in much better than expected with a headline reading of 255,000, beating the consensus estimate of 180,000 by a huge margin. The U.S. Dollar rallied against all of its major peers following the announcement and it finished close to its daily and weekly highs. The Great British Pound was among the weakest currencies again, as the newly announced easing measures still weighed on it.

Oil had a mixed session, as it started the day lower, but finished with a gain for the third day in a row despite the strong dollar after a late rally. Precious metals got lower during the day and most commodity currencies also finished with losses. The Canadian Dollar was the weakest among them, as the Canadian Employment report was a negative surprise. The Australian Dollar and the New Zealand Dollar both held up better, although the Kiwi is down again today in early trading.

EUR/USD (current price: 1.1090)

The most traded currency pair got lower again following the Jobs data and the common currency is unchanged today in early trading near the 1.11 level. The Europan economy still seems way slower than its U.S. counterpart, as the Brexit vote and the inflation measures still hurt the value of the Euro. The pair is back at the 200-day MA, and it is still well inside a long-term trading range between the 1.09 and the 1.1450 levels.

Our assessment: EUR/USD is still above a short-term declining trend channel after breaking out of the pattern two weeks ago, with strong support at the 1.10 level.

USD/CAD (current price: 0.9735)

The Canadian Dollar was one of the weakest currencies on Friday following the huge miss in the countries own Employment Report that came in together with the U.S. data. Employment declined by 30,000 compared to the consensus estimate of a slightly positive number, and that points to growth issues in the country. The 200-day MA is close to the current rate, near the 1.3325 level and that might provide a target for the current move by the pair.

Our assessment: USD/CAD is still trading just below the long-term resistance near 1.32, and above the key support at 1.3015, with the deep correction in oil hurting the currency in the last month.

GBP/USD (current price: 1.3090)

The Pound was also very weak on Friday, as the negative housing data added to the concerns regarding the health of the British economy following the Brexit referendum. The forward looking indicators all point to a significant slowdown, and it remains a question if the Bank of England’s latest round of monetary easing can help the struggling economy. Cable is just above the all-important 1.30 level, and the 1.2850 low, that marks the 30-year minimum, which the currency hit following the vote.

Our assessment: The cross might be headed for a re-test of 1.2850, but the ongoing rally in global stocks might be enough to prevent another leg lower in the battered currency.

Gold (current price: $1342.00) and Silver (current price: $19.64)

Precious metals got sold heavily after the release of the better than expected U.S. numbers, as investors again think that a rate hike is possible by the FED in the coming months. The negative performance of silver continued, as gold is still holding on just below the crucial $1350 level. Silver is now way lower than the $20 support, and the recent correction might be re-tested during the coming session, especially if the bullish trend in the Dollar continues.

Our assessment: Silver might still suffer from the relative witness of the past few sessions, although a recovery back above $20 could signal a continuing long-term advance.

Economic Releases

Forex markets will likely have a calm session following the busy days towards the end of last week as there will be only a few economic releases coming out today. The most awaited release will probably come out of Canada, as the latest number of Building Permits will be published that might give clues to traders about the slightly struggling Canadian economy. The Swiss CPI will come out before that during the morning session, while the Eurozone Investor Sentiment Index will also be released in early trading.