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The US dollar fell slightly on Tuesday, remaining weak ahead of the delayed November jobs report, while the pound sterling strengthened.
The U.S. dollar edged lower Tuesday, remaining weak ahead of the release of the delayed November jobs report, which could impact monetary policy decision making at the Federal Reserve, while sterling gained despite weak jobs data,
At 04:45 ET (09:45 GMT), the Dollar Index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six other currencies, traded 0.1% lower at 97.840, near its lowest level since October 17.
The U.S. currency remains soft following the interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve last week, amid expectations that a weak jobs report will add to expectations of another easing in the first half of next year.
U.S. payrolls are expected to have inched up by a muted 35,000 in November, according to Reuters estimates, while payrolls from October, which were not announced because of a data blackout linked to a record-long federal government shutdown, will be folded into this report.
Meanwhile, a fresh unemployment rate will be unveiled, after the government’s 43-day closure kept the tally for October from ever being collected. As a result, for the first time ever, there will be a gap in that all-important data series.
Gauges of retail sales and a flash estimate of business activity are also set to be published.
“Numbers in line with consensus will not have too much bearing on the Fed policy debate, where the market is close to pricing the next 25bp Fed cut by April and a further one by September,” said analysts at ING, in a note.
In Europe, EUR/USD traded largely flat at 1.1753, with the single currency struggling to take advantage of the dollar weakness after disappointing December economic activity data in the eurozone.
Eurozone business activity growth slowed more than expected at the end of 2025 as a contraction in manufacturing deepened while the expansion in the dominant services industry eased, a survey showed.
The HCOB Flash Eurozone Composite PMI, compiled by S&P Global, declined to a three-month low of 51.9 this month from a 2-1/2-year high of 52.8 in November.
The ECB is widely expected to hold its key rate at 2% for a fourth straight meeting on Thursday.
“1.1720/25 could prove the intraday support level for EUR/USD should NFPs come in strong, but a move through 1.1780 could open up 1.1800/1820,” said ING.
GBP/USD climbed 0.2% to 1.3405, with sterling climbing even after U.K. unemployment pointed towards a rate cut by the Bank of England on Thursday.
Data released earlier in the session showed that the U.K. unemployment rate rose to 5.1% in the three months to October, above the 5.0% seen the prior month, which was already a post-pandemic high.
Pay growth across the whole economy, excluding bonuses, fell to an annual 4.6% rate in the three months to October, below the revised 4.7% seen the prior month.
“Today’s U.K. private sector wage data should allow the Bank of England to cut rates on Thursday,” said ING.
In Asia, USD/JPY dropped 0.2% to 154.86, falling to a near two-week low as investors braced for the Bank of Japan’s policy-setting meeting later in the week.
The central bank had recently signaled it will consider raising interest rates in December, amid increasingly sticky local inflation.
Japanese CPI inflation data is also due before the BOJ’s decision.
USD/CNY traded 0.1% lower to 7.0426, while AUD/USD slipped 0.1% to 0.6640, although the currency has gained ground in recent sessions amid speculation that the Reserve Bank of Australia may raise interest rates next year, due to sticky inflation.