The US created 287k jobs last june and in a knee-jerk reaction the US Dollar gained support, but gains quickly neutralised as the previous poor reading was made even worse as it was revised to 11k from a previous 38k, and the June unemployment rate ticked slighly higher to 4.9%.
The mood was positive this morning in Asia after also taking a positive handover from Friday’s US close. The upbeat nonfarm payrolls figure from the US last Friday, and a landslide victory for Prime Minister Abe in Japan’s latest upper house elections last Sunday helped lift overall sentiment. The elections results from Japan are expected to make it easier for Abe to deliver his economic policies.
The US dollar index (DXY), measuring USD support against a basket of major currencies, is currently trading at 96.36. Last Friday the index momentarily spiked to session highs of 96.70 but was unable to hold such levels and quickly resumed levels seen before the data anouncement.
The positive sentiment left its mark on the USDJPY this morning, as the safe-haven Yen was losing against the USD – the USDJPY is currently at 100.95.
The British pound steadied against the USD and showed some signs of consolidation against the euro as well but remained overall weak as more easing is expected out of the BoE.
In Australia, PM Malcolm Turnball announced a victory more than a week after general elections. Mr Turnbull made his anouncement on Sunday after the leader of the opposition conceded defeat. The Aussie has been higher against the USD and the JPY this morning, trading at 0.7575 and 76.51 respectively; although it was close to flat against much of the other major currencies.
