| Time | Country | Event | Period | Previous value | Forecast | Actual |
|---|
| 06:45 | France | Industrial Production, m/m | March | 0.2% | 0.3% | -0.3% |
| 08:30 | United Kingdom | Purchasing Manager Index Services | April | 53.1 | 54.9 | 55.0 |
| 09:00 | Eurozone | Unemployment Rate | March | 6.5% | 6.5% | 6.5% |
USD depreciated against other major currencies in the European session on Friday as investors waited for the release of the key report on the U.S. labour market’s situation in April later in the day.
The U.S. Dollar Index (DXY), measuring the U.S. currency's value relative to a basket of foreign currencies, decreased 0.11% from the previous close to 105.18.
Economists expect the report to show that U.S. employers created 243,000 new jobs in April, down from the 303,000 tally registered in March. The unemployment rate, meanwhile, is anticipated to hold steady at 3.8%, and the annual average earnings growth is seen cooling to 4.0% from 4.1% in March.
Earlier this week, the Fed’s chairman Jerome Powell highlighted the job market's strength as he justified the central bank's decision to leave its interest rates unchanged at the current elevated level of 5.25-5.50% at the latest meeting, even as he noted some weakening in the demand side of the labour market.
If the report shows a softening labour market situation this will support the views that rate cuts might be needed this year.