Forex today coming out of Easter holidays into another NFP week

Forex today is still shaking off the Easter long weekend holidays, and heads into the new week with Non-Farm Payrolls off in the distance for Friday's action.

Another Non-Farm Payrolls Friday looms ahead following Easter weekend

Renewed focus on the US employment landscape will manifest itself at the NFP release as the US Fed gears up for further interest rate hikes this year, but wage growth within the US economy could constrain further movement on rates if wages continue to waffle despite improving employment conditions. Traders will be looking into the numbers buried inside the NFP report for clues about where the Fed is likely to be headed at their next rate meeting, and the headline NFP figures could take a backseat to wage figures in a similar pattern to the previous release.

The Euro and the Sterling both fell in the latter half of last week, dropping back into consolidation areas near each pair's respective 34 EMA as the US Dollar Index staged a brief recovery, but ultimately markets are heading into the new week with major pairs nearing the middle after last week's action. The Sterling will be seeing a relatively quiet week on the macro calendar while the EUR faces preliminary Eurozone CPI figures for March early Wednesday at 09:00 GMT. Economic activity slowed within the European Union for the first quarter of 2018, and fears of further contraction could hang over the Euro, especially if Wednesday's CPI fails to meet the forecast of 1.4 percent for the year-on-year figure.

Aussie still on holidays to kick off the new week

The Aussie has fared poorly against the USD as the interest rate differential between the US Fed and the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) begins to widen, and confidence in the AUD has been steadily evaporating since reaching a peak of 0.8135 in January. This week sees the RBA's Rate Announcement, but Aussie buyers are unlikely to find much inspiration as the RBA is widely expected to stand pat on interest rates until sometime next year.

The Yen continues to suffer from an excess of popularity as the broad market's safe haven of choice, and the USD/JPY is still hanging near year-long lows despite the Dollar's late-March drive upwards, which was only able to keep the USD flat against the Yen for March before sputtering out as continued trade war fears hang over markets like a bad habit, and risk appetite is unlikely to get very far out of the gate following China's surprise stamping of tariffs on American goods late Sunday.

Further reading for Monday:

Spring has Sprung and Hope “Springs” eternal

Forex Trading Opportunities for the Week Ahead 2 Apr

How Far Away Are We from GAME OVER

SP500 Another Selloff?