The EUR/USD pair traded slightly lower at 1.1650 at the opening of the European session on Thursday (September 4th). The pair continues to search for direction, not far from the lower end of its trading range over the past few weeks, ahead of the Eurozone Retail Sales report. However, the main focus is on the US ADP Employment Change, due today, and, especially, the US Nonfarm Payrolls report on Friday.

On Wednesday, weak US JOLTS Job Openings data added to evidence of a weak labor market and raised expectations of an imminent Federal Reserve (Fed) interest rate cut. This view was confirmed by Fed speakers such as Governor Christopher Waller and Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic afterward.

Investor bets on the Fed's monetary easing at its upcoming September meeting jumped to 97%, from around 87% the previous day, alleviating concerns about surging fiscal debt in major global economies that had gripped markets earlier in the week. The 30-year US Treasury yield fell below 4.90% from Wednesday's high of 5%, while in Europe, the long-term German bond yield fell to 3.35% from a multi-year high of 3.43%.

However, market sentiment remains cautious. Today's focus is the US ADP Employment report, which is expected to show relatively low job creation ahead of Friday's Nonfarm Payrolls. The latter report may confirm a 25 basis point interest rate cut following the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting on September 17. (alg)

Source: FXstreet