Jobs Data in Focus, USD Bounce Stutters

In typical pre-NFP trade, markets have been rangebound and largely muted early Friday. The USD made early gains in Asia-Pac hours, but these have been swiftly reversed thanks to a modest uptick in GBP, AUD and NZD. The single currency trades also trades soft, although EUR/USD has recovered off overnight lows of 1.2213.

Scandi FX trades poorly, with NOK and SEK the poorest performers so far, albeit on light newsflow, although industrial production data from both Sweden and Norway continues to look weak.

The US jobs report crosses later today, with the US expected to have added 50,000 jobs over the month of December - the lowest since the outbreak of the COVID crisis early last year. The whisper number is inline with consensus, with the unemployment rate expected to tick higher to 6.8%. The equivalent Canadian data is also on the docket. The speaker slate is quiet, with just Fed's Clarida due.