According to this indicator, the US labor market is improving at a better rate than expected. JOLTS leaped to 4.17 million. The USÂ Job Openings and Labor Turnover Summary was expected to tick up from a level of 3.87 million in January (revised down from 3.97 million) to 3.99 million for the month of February. While this is a lagging indicator in comparison to the Non-Farm Payrolls, the Fed is known to be watching this indicator closely. The 4 million mark is important. This is the highest post crisis level: the highest since August 2007.
The US dollar was on the back foot towards the publication with EUR/USD moving towards 1.38, GBP/USD flying high at around 1.6740, USD/JPY at 102.15 and AUD/USD above 0.9340. The US dollar is marginally stronger after the release, especially against the yen.
Against the euro, this figure seems to have s marginal impact. The pair is sticking around 1.38.
The Non-Farm Payrolls report on Friday was quite alright, and market reaction was mixed. However, the risk on sentiment that caught markets today certainly hurt the greenback.
Further reading: an interview with Simon Smith, who casts doubt if the Fed will wait only 6 months between the end of QE and a rate hike.
