Forex: Thursday’s review

Yesterday the euro fell to an 11-year low against the yen and the weakest level in 15 months versus the dollar on concern Europe’s debt crisis is worsening and as reports showed the U.S. labor market is strengthening. The 17-nation currency weakened against most major peers after France’s borrowing costs rose at a bond sale  as credit-rating companies threaten to cut the nation’s top AAA ranking.

The dollar extended gains versus the euro after ADP Employer Services reported U.S. companies added 325,000 workers in December, beating the highest projection in a Bloomberg News survey and following a revised 204,000 gain the prior month. The median estimate was for a gain of 178,000. A government report tomorrow will show U.S. nonfarm payrolls swelled by 150,000 positions last month, compared with 120,000 in November, according to another Bloomberg survey.

The Australian dollar fell against its U.S. counterpart after a report showed the nation’s trade surplus (AUITGSB) unexpectedly narrowed in November as shipments abroad of resources slowed.

Canada’s dollar slid to a one-week low versus its U.S. counterpart as crude oil fell and rising bond yields in France, Spain and Italy signaled renewed concern some euro-area nations may struggle to fund themselves.

The Canadian currency fell as much as 1 percent as North American equities dropped, making higher-yielding assets less attractive to investors. The nation’s employers added 20,000 jobs in December after net losses in the previous two months, according to economists before tomorrow’s jobs report.

EUR / USD on results of yesterday's session, the pair has fallen on one and a half figure.

GBP / USD on results of yesterday's session, the pair has lost more figures.

USD / JPY on results of yesterday's session the pair was fixed above Y77,00.

On Friday EMU data sees retail trade, unemployment data and also the business climate indicator/economic sentiment survey all at 1000GMT, where retail trade is expected to decline by a reading of -0.5% m/m, -0.8% y/y and the unemployment rate is expected to have edged up to 10.4%. At 1100GMT, Germany manufacturing orders are expected to decline after the previous month's strong gain. Events start at 0800GMT with the latest UK house price index from the Halifax. US data starts with the labor market data at 1330GMT where non-farm payrolls are forecast to rise 150,000 in December, continuing a trend of moderate payrolls gain. The unemployment rate is forecast to rebound slightly to 8.7% after falling 0.4 to 8.6% in November. Hourly earnings are expected to rise 0.2% after the 0.1% November decline, while the average workweek is forecast to hold steady at 34.3 hours. At 1430GMT, New York Fed President William Dudley speaks to the New Jersey Bankers Association in Iselin, N.J.