The US dollar today displayed mixed reactions to the positive non-farm payrolls as it weakened against some of its peers while rallying against others. Immediately after the release of the non-farm payrolls by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the US dollar strengthened against the Japanese yen, but demonstrated weakness against the euro.
The greenback has been largely weaker during today’s session as tracked by the US Dollar Index, which has been trading below its opening quote of 98.77 for much of today.
The US dollar’s mixed results were largely triggered by the release of the non-farm payrolls, which added 211,000 jobs versus the expected 190,000 and March’s revised figure of 79,000. The non-farm payrolls also declined to 4.4% versus the expected and previous 4.5%, which is the lowest unemployment figure since 2007. The US non-farm payrolls also declined to 62.9% as compared to the previous 63.0%.
The non-farm payrolls also rose by an annualized figure of 2.5% as compared to the expected 2.7% and the previous 2.6%. The strong headline NFP figures underlie a disappointing month for the US labor force as evidenced by the accompanying figures. However, these figures support the assertion by the FOMC that the economic slowdown witnessed in the first quarter was largely caused by transitory factors.
The greenback’s performance is also likely to be affected by speeches from several Federal Reserve members culminating in a speech by Fed Chair, Janet Yellen later today.
The EUR/USD was trading at 1.0983 as at 15:15 GMT having recovered from a low of 1.0947 after the release of the NFP. The USD/JPY was trading at 112.66 having risen from a low of 112.04 earlier today.
If you have any questions, comments or opinions regarding the US Dollar,
feel free to post them using the commentary form below.
