North American Summary and Highlights 3 Apr
Overview - The USD was lifted by a strong US non-farm payroll. Middle East worries persisted.
North American session
March’s non-farm payroll was much stronger than expected with a 178k increase, with unemployment slipping to 4.3% from 4.4%, though average hourly earnings at 0.2% were on the low side of expectations and the workweek slipped. The UST reaction was moderate, with yields up 3-5bps. Equities were closed for Good Friday.
The USD bounced on the data though the spike in USD/JPY was quickly reversed. The USD regained a positive tone later but USD/JPY at 159.65 was up only 10 pips from pre-data levels. EUR/USD losses were also modest, to 1.1520 from 1.1545. EUR/CHF and EUR/GBP were firmer as USD/CHF edged above .80 and GBP/USD edged below 1.32. AUD/USD slipped below .69 but USD/CAD gains stalled at 1.3950.