The US dollar and Japanese yen drifted higher yet again on Friday, as low liquidity left the major currency pairs to trade in tight ranges.

People who have no jobs, or fear losing their jobs, are poor consumers. They hesitate. They procrastinate. They make do.

The US dollar and Japanese yen ended Thursday on a mixed note, as a market-wide increase in risk appetite only worked to the benefit of the commodity dollars and assets like stocks.

Kathy Lien is bullish the Canadian dollar for a variety of reasons.

The bulls are deceived into believing we’re in a new bull market.

Looking ahead to Thursday, risk trends are likely to remain the primary driver of US dollar and Japanese yen price action.

A light at the end of the tunnel? Not likely.

The Japanese yen was the strongest of the majors, while the US dollar was close behind, as jittery investor sentiment throughout the financial markets weighed on “risky” assets like high-yielding currencies and equities.

People may be worried and they may be beginning to save, but there's no sense of urgency.

The stock market is in a bull rally. Does that mean the pain is over or are we setting up for another sell-off?