Dollar gains some ground ahead of nonfarm payrolls report

The dollar gained some ground against the other major currencies on Friday, as markets eyed the release of U.S. nonfarm payrolls data later in the day and as the previous session’s jobless claims report lent support to the greenback.
The dollar remained supported by data on Thursday showing that the number of individuals filing for initial jobless benefits rose less-than-expected to 278,000 last week.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was up 0.09% to 93.75.
EUR/USD slipped 0.17% to 1.1458 as investors continued to focus on developments in Greece, after German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schauble said on Thursday that Greece’s financial difficulties were the result of domestic problems, but that Germany would do all in its power to help.
Schauble was speaking at a joint press conference with his Greek counterpart Yanis Varoufakis in Berlin on Thursday.
The comments came after the European Central Bank said it would no longer accept Greek bonds as collateral for lending, shifting the burden on to Greece’s central bank to provide additional liquidity for its lenders and increasing pressure on Athens.
Greece’s government is seeking debt relief on its current €240 billion bailout, which has fuelled fears over a clash with its creditors that could bring about its eventual exit from the euro zone.
Earlier Friday, official data showed that German industrial production rose 0.1% in December, disappointing expectations for a 0.4% gain. November’s figure was revised to a 0.1% uptick from a previously estimated 0.1% fall.
The pound was almost unchanged against the dollar, with GBP/USD at 1.5323 after the Office For National Statistics said that the U.K. trade deficit widened to £10.15 billion in December from £9.28 billion in November, whose figure was revised from a previously estimated deficit of £8.85 billion.
Analysts had expected the trade deficit to hit £9.10 billion in December.
Elsewhere, USD/CHF edged down 0.10% to trade 0.9201, while USD/JPY fell 0.20% to 117.29.
In Switzerland, official data earlier showed that foreign currency reserves rose to 498.4 billion Swiss francs last month from 495.1 billion Swiss francs in December.
A separate report showed that Swiss retail sales rose at an annualized rate of 2.2% in December, exceeding expectations for a 0.4% increase. In November, the change in retail sales was revised to an annualized decline of 0.6% from a previously estimated 1.2% drop.
The Australian and New Zealand dollars were higher, with AUD/USD climbing 0.55% to 0.7841 and NZD/USD adding 0.18% to 0.7420. The Aussie shrugged off a report by the Reserve Bank of Australia saying that it cut its 2015 growth forecasts to 2.75% from an initial 3%.
The central bank said it hopes lower interest rates and the falling Australian dollar will boost growth beyond 2015.
The Canadian dollar held steady, with USD/CAD at 1.2433.

Image Source and Article source: reuters.com investing.com

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