by JustForex

On Friday, the US dollar fell slightly against a basket of major currencies. The dollar index (#DX) closed in the red zone (-0.09%). The US has published rather weak labor market statistics for December. 145K new jobs were created in the nonfarm sector of the country, which is below market expectations at 164K. Average hourly earnings growth slowed down from 3.1% (yoy) to 2.9% (yoy). The unemployment rate remained unchanged at 3.5%. At the moment, the greenback is consolidating relative to its main competitors.

This week, investors expect the completion of the phase-one trade deal between the US and China. On Wednesday, China’s Vice Premier Liu He will visit Washington to sign a deal, which will lead to a weakening of the conflict between the countries. Under the agreements, Beijing has pledged to increase purchases of US goods and services in return for suspending and rolling back duties on Chinese imports. The deadline for the start of the next stage of negotiations has not yet been set, and if either party fails to fulfill its obligations, trade tensions may become aggravated.

The “black gold” prices have become stable after a sharp decline last week. At the moment, futures for the WTI crude oil are testing the $59.00 mark per barrel.

Market Indicators

On Friday, there was the bearish sentiment in the US stock market: #SPY (-0.29%), #DIA (-0.46%), #QQQ (-0.26%).

The 10-year US government bonds yield has declined. At the moment, the indicator is at the level of 1.84-1.85%.

• – UK GDP data at 11:30 (GMT+2:00);
• – Manufacturing production in the UK at 11:30 (GMT+2:00).

by JustForex