The Week That Was in fx

Week of November 2–6, 2026

RBA, BoE and Jobs Data: The Fine Print That Moved the Majors

Read this firstThis recap looks backward. It reviews how the eight major currencies behaved around this week’s top-tier events, and it holds no trade ideas, price targets, or forecasts. This is intended to help new and developing forex traders understand which market drivers matter and how they affect sentiment on a currency.

Five top-tier events landed on five majors this week: a Reserve Bank of Australia decision, New Zealand’s quarterly jobs report, a Bank of England decision, and U.S. and Canadian jobs reports released in the same minute on Friday. In both central bank decisions, the fine print moved the currency more than the rate call. The RBA hiked and the Aussie still fell. The BoE hiked with a hawkish lean and the pound jumped, but only briefly. Two jobs misses knocked the kiwi and the loonie to the bottom of the board within 15 minutes.

Around those events, U.S. politics and a chip-stock rout set the tone. The Swiss franc gained on all seven counterparts, the dollar finished second after a strong Friday, and the Australian dollar ended behind all seven. Below, we go through each event: what was expected, what came out, and how the currency behaved in the minutes, hours and days that followed.

The 30-Second Take

• The RBA raised rates to 4.85% as expected, but three of nine Board members voted to hold. The Aussie was the weakest major for the next 24 hours, though it had already been the weakest since Sunday’s open.
• New Zealand’s jobless rate rose to 5.7% against a 5.5% forecast, and the kiwi gave the biggest immediate reaction of the five events, falling about 0.45% against the average major in 15 minutes.
• The BoE’s 8-1 hike, with the lone dissenter wanting a bigger move, made the pound the strongest major in the first 15 minutes. Haven buying of the franc and yen took over within hours.
• At 8:30 am ET Friday, U.S. payrolls beat forecasts and Canadian employment slipped. From the release to the weekly close, the loonie was the weakest major and the dollar the strongest.
• About 70% of the dollar’s Friday gain came before the jobs report, as haven demand returned with the AI-stock selloff.

What’s ahead for Premium members: the full ranking of all eight major currencies and why they diverged this week, followed by a close look at the five top-tier events: the RBA decision, New Zealand’s jobs report, the Bank of England decision, Canada’s jobs report and the U.S. labor data. For each one, we compare what the headline said with how the currency behaved in the minutes, hours and days after the release, and what that reaction can teach about reading the next one. The section closes with three questions to work through on your own.