SOFT US DATA PUSHED BACK FED NEXT RATE HIKE PUMMELLING THE DOLLAR

The USD has depreciated against major pairs all week. American economic data has been weaker than anticipated with both purchasing manager indices (PMI) manufacturing and non-manufacturing coming in under expectations. The lone bright spot this week was the ADP private payroll report with a gain of 205,000 jobs beating a forecast of 195,000. Unemployment claims rose 8,000 putting some strain on the resilience of the jobs component. The final piece of jobs week comes with the release of the U.S. non-farm payrolls (NFP) report on Friday, February 5 at 8:30 am EST.

There market expects the NFP report to show a gain of 189,000 new jobs added to the American economy. Last month there were a monster number of new jobs with 292,000 so a lower number is anticipated with this month's report. The strong ADP on Wednesday is being offset by the increase in unemployment claims and it will be up to the NFP to dictate the path of the USD with the currency in dire need of good news this week.