Volatility is expected throughout the week and that could mean fresh trading opportunities to kickstart the new year.

• The US dollar index DXY gave back some of its outstanding gains from last week when it dived from a two-year high of 159.55 to a Friday close of 108.92. Monday morning, the index was still figuring out which way is up as it was largely dormant, and tilting south to levels near 108.70. Big things are coming and the dollar better wake up — jobs data is on deck for this week and it’s about to get volatile (potentially presenting some nice trading opportunities).
• Slated for Friday, the nonfarm payrolls reports for December will shed light on employers’ hiring efforts throughout the Holiday-packed month. Analysts expect to see 154,000 jobs added, a marked decrease from the 227,000 jobs in the previous month. Still, any surprises in either direction might send forex markets scrambling and the dollar seesawing. In this context, the greenback has been enjoying big gains recently.
• Just last week, it broke the EUR/USD to a fresh two-year low near the $1.02 handle. Now, the euro-dollar pair has slightly recovered but the bruises are still there — it’s trading near $1.03. The USD/JPY today was gravitating toward ¥157.60, a six-month peak as the staid yet silent Bank of Japan continues to stay tight-lipped on any future interest rate hikes that can bump up the yen. And the GBP/USD is struggling to crawl out of a nine-month slump around $1.24.