NFP and the rest of the US labor market data
The first Friday of a month is when the US Labor Department releases an update for nonfarm payrolls (NFP), unemployment rate and average hourly earnings. This publication at 15:30 MT time on August 4 will attract the attention of Forex traders from all over the world. The US dollar is expected to move strongly in all currency pairs and especially in EUR/USD and USD/JPY.
The reason why these figures are so important is that they have a direct impact on the policy of the Federal Reserve, the US central bank. The market will focus on NFP and average earnings: if the readings exceed forecasts, the USD will strengthen. At the same time, if the releases disappoint, the US currency will find itself under renewed negative pressure.
Remember that volatility tends to increase during the NFP Fridays. Consider this while trading the USD!