The US dollar is at its lowest this week following the release of February non-farm payrolls numbers. The headline numbers were strong at +275K compared to +200K, but there were some soft details underneath. First, his two previous reports were revised downward by a total of 167,000 jobs, making total payrolls lower than expected.
The household survey also pointed to continued weakness in the unemployment rate, with the unemployment rate rising to a post-pandemic high of 3.9%, compared to the expected 3.7%.
In addition, the market turned to pricing in further interest rate cuts as wage growth slowed to 0.1% month-on-month from the expected 0.3%. Additionally, January’s unpleasant reading of +0.6% has been revised downward to +0.5%.
As a result, market prices have changed from 95bps to 100bps of the Fed’s rate cut this year. The US dollar fell across the board, and EUR/USD rose from 1.0942 to 1.0982, before retreating slightly.
euro dollar 10 minutes
The movement was similar across the board, with gold rising to an all-time high of $2,176. Stock markets also supported the prospect of a rate cut, with S&P 500 futures up 13 points, compared with a slight decline before the news.
