Ella 
EUR/USD hovered around 1.0780 in thin trading on Monday with US markets closed for a holiday.
European Central Bank (ECB) President Pierre Wunsch said it was too early to talk about stopping rate hikes altogether.
U.S. non-farm payrolls came in at 187,000 in August, better than the expected 170,000 and the previous value of 157,000.
During the Asian session on Monday, EUR/USD remained on the defensive, above the mid-range of 1.0700. EUR/USD is currently trading around 1.0782, up 0.05% on the day.
On Saturday, Pierre Wunsch, president of the Bank of Belgium and a member of the European Central Bank (ECB) Board of Governors, said the central bank could do more. Pierre-Wensch added that the ECB will have to pause policy at some point, but it is too early to talk about stopping rate hikes entirely. In addition, ECB policymaker Francois Villeroy de Galhau said that the ECB is very close to the peak of interest rates, but it is still a long way from considering a rate cut.
In terms of the dollar, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics announced on Friday that the number of non-farm payrolls in the United States in August was 187,000, which was better than the expected value of 170,000 and the previous value of 157,000. Meanwhile, the unemployment rate fell sharply to 3.8%, compared to market expectations of 3.5% and the previous reading of 3.5%. Average hourly earnings rose 0.2% on the month, beating expectations for a 0.3% increase. Finally, the U.S. Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index came in at 47.6, up from 46.4 previously, better than the consensus estimate of 47.0.
Market participants believe that the Federal Reserve (FED) is likely to end the tightening cycle. Markets have priced in the Fed not raising interest rates at its September meeting, with the probability of a rate hike in November and December falling to nearly 35%, according to the CME FedWatch tool. The U.S. dollar (USD) ended its sixth straight week of gains even as it posted its smallest weekly gain since early July.
U.S. markets were closed for the Labor Day holiday. Market participants will be closely watching Germany’s July trade balance, the Eurozone’s September Sentix investor confidence index, and Bundesbank President Joachim Nagel’s comments ahead of ECB President Christine Lagarde’s speech. speech. Traders will take their cues from speeches from central bank officials and look for trading opportunities in EUR/USD.
