Forex Today: Markets await comments from Fed officials ahead of Friday's job report

Here is what you need to know on Thursday, January 9:

The US Dollar (USD) gathered strength against its rivals for the second consecutive day on Wednesday as markets assessed US data releases and news on President-elect Donald Trump's tariff plans. Stock markets in the US will remain closed and bond markets will close early on Thursday, in observance of a national day of mourning to honor the death of former President Jimmy Carter. In the American session, several Federal Reserve (Fed) policymakers are scheduled to deliver speeches.

US President-elect Donald Trump is considering declaring a national economic emergency to allow for a new tariff program, CNN reported on Wednesday, citing four sources familiar with the discussions. This headline caused markets to adopt a cautious stance and helped the US Dollar (USD) outperform its peers.

Meanwhile, the data from the US showed that employment in the private sector increased by 122,000 in December, missing the market expectation of 140,000. On a positive note, weekly Initial Jobless Claims declined to 201,000 in the week ending January 4 from 211,000 in the previous week. Finally, the minutes of the Fed's December policy meeting showed that almost all officials said upside risks to inflation had increased and that they agreed on the need for a careful approach to further policy easing.

The USD Index closed the second consecutive trading day in positive territory on Wednesday and was last seen trading marginally higher on the day slightly above 109.10.

EUR/USD continued to push lower and registered small losses on Wednesday. The pair struggles to find a foothold and fluctuates near 1.0300 in the European morning on Thursday. Germany's Destatis reported that Industrial Production expanded by 1.5% on a monthly basis in November, surpassing the market expectation for an increase of 0.5%.

GBP/USD declined sharply and lost nearly 1% on Wednesday. The pair stays under bearish pressure to begin the European session and trades at its lowest level in over a year below 1.2300.

USD/JPY posted small gains for the third consecutive day on Wednesday but struggled to gather further bullish momentum. The pair retreats slightly on Thursday while managing to hold above 158.00.

The data from China showed that annual inflation, as measured by the change in the Consumer Price Index (CPI), declined to 0.1% in December from 0.2% in November. In the meantime, the Australian Bureau of Statistics announced that Retail Sales rose by 0.8% on a monthly basis in November. AUD/USD showed no immediate reaction to these figures and was last seen losing 0.3% on the day near 0.6200.

Gold extended its recovery after closing in the green on Tuesday and touched a multi-week high of $2,670 on Wednesday. XAU/USD stays relatively quiet and trades in a narrow band above $2,660 early Thursday.