The U.S. dollar index firmed on Friday following a broadly positive jobs report for November. Data from the U.S. Labor department showed that the economy added 228,000 jobs during the month which was higher than forecasts. The U.S. unemployment rate was steady at 4.1% while job wages grew slightly but below forecasts.
The payrolls report comes ahead of this Wednesday’s FOMC meeting where interest rates are set to rise by 25 basis points. Last week, the U.S. government shutdown was also averted as President Trump signed the legislation to fund the government for two more weeks. The Congress is expected to negotiate a long term budget deal during the period.
The economic calendar is quiet today, ahead of a busy week that will see the FOMC, ECB, BoE and the SNB holding their respective monetary policy meetings.
