EUR/USD cautious above 1.0600 ahead of NFP

The softer tone around the greenback remains well and sound at the end of the week, now allowing EUR/USD to stay above the 1.0600 handle ahead of US Payrolls.

EUR/USD up on USD-weakness, French polls

Spot is extending its upside for the second consecutive session for the time being, always backed by a renewed offered bias surrounding the greenback ahead of the release of key US jobs report.

Collaborating with the firm tone in EUR, latest election polls showed on Friday a pick up in the vote intention for presidential candidate Emmanuel Macron (26%) vs. far-right candidate Marine Le Pen (26%) for the first round. According to the same poll, Macron is leading 65%-35% vs. Le Pen in a hypothetical second round.

In the meantime, the recent rally in USD is showing some signs of exhaustion, as market participants seem to have almost fully priced in a rate hike by the Federal Reserve at the March meeting.

Today’s results from US Non-farm Payrolls should be crucial to reinforce those expectations, although below-consensus figures could spark a bout of USD-selling and thus push spot higher.

Recall that prior surveys expect the US economy to have created 190K jobs during last month and the unemployment rate to tick lower to 4.7%.

EUR/USD levels to watch

At the moment the pair is gaining 0.32% at 1.0610 facing the next up barrier at 1.0623 (short-term resistance line) ahead of 1.0660 (100-day sma) and finally 1.0682 (high Feb.16). On the other hand, a break below 1.0525 (low Mar.9) would target 1.0513 (low Mar.1) en route to 1.0499 (low Mar.3).