A big disappointment in the US labor market: ADP reports a gain of only 189K jobs in the private sector in March. This lowers the bar for Friday’s NFP. February’s number stood on 214K, revised up from 212K.
And it lowers the value of the dollar, which retreats after gaining beforehand.
EUR/USDÂ rises to 1.0775, GBP/USD edges closer to 1.48 and USD/JPY slips below 120. AUD/USD strengthens around 0.7610, NZD/USD is around 0.7440 and USD/CAD trades around 1.2650.
The ADP report for the private sector was expected to show a gain of around 230K non-farm jobs in March. This is a significant hint towards Friday’s Non-Farm Payrolls.
The US dollar enjoyed some strength in the wake of the new quarter.
EUR/USD traded around 1.0750, GBP/USD under 1.48 and USD/JPY around 120.
Later on we have the ISM Manufacturing PMI. Its employment component also serves as a lead towards the NFP. However, the services sector is much larger and we’ll get that figure only next week, after the fact.
It is important to note that market liquidity is relatively low due to the upcoming Easter holiday in many financial centers.
After quite a few long weeks of disappointing US figures, we had some beats of late. The latest was the upbeat consumer confidence, which topped 100 points according to the Conference Board.
More: How High Can The USD Go? EUR/USD to 0.98 by year end – Barclays
