- This morning brought the release of April Non-Farm Payrolls data, and for the second consecutive month the headline number disappointed. The unemployment rate came-in at 3.9%, beating the expectation of 4%, and Average Hourly Earnings disappointed, coming in at 2.6% (annualized) versus an expectation for a gain to 2.7%.
- After an initial move of USD-weakness, bulls came-back to punch the Dollar up to fresh 2018 highs. This helped to deepen pullbacks in EUR/USD[1] and GBP/USD[2]. The big question for next week is whether US Dollar bulls can continue the move[3] with overbought conditions showing form a variety of vantage points. The big item on the calendar[4] is on Thursday for the Bank of England’s ‘Super Thursday’ rate decision.
- DailyFX Forecasts have been updated for Q2, and are available from the DailyFX Trading Guides page[5]. If you’re looking to improve your trading approach, check out Traits of Successful Traders[6]. And if you’re looking for an introductory primer to the Forex market, check out our New to FX Guide[7].
Do you want to see how retail traders are currently trading the US Dollar? Check out our IG Client Sentiment Indicator[8].
NFP Disappoints, USD Bulls Respond to Quick Pullback to Bring Fresh Highs
April Non-Farm Payrolls data was released[9] out of the United States this morning, and the headline number came-in with disappointment as the +163k print was unable to match the expectation of +191k. On the bright side, the unemployment rate did drop to a fresh 17-year low, printing at 3.9% versus the expectation of 4%
