NEWS / Macroeconomic Stories

Dollar rose after sharp upward US jobs growth revision.

By Jean-Claude Braha - ACM Senior Trader Yesterdays News and Events: The Dollar hit six-month highs against the Yen on Friday after a report showed sharp upward revisions to US jobs growth, despite a surprisingly weak reading for September, erasing some fears about a weakening economy. The Dollar initially slipped after the report, which showed the US created just 51k new jobs in September, well below consensus forecasts for 125K. Eurusd reached a 10-week low after the US Labor Dept. said it had sharply undercounted job growth in the year end march. The Dollar also rose to a seven-month high against the Yen, helped by media report that North Korea may test a nuclear weapon this week. The UsdJpy was up more than 1% at 119.93 and made Friday its biggest daily rise in around 21 months. It earlier hit a peak of about 119.30, the highest since March 2006. The Yen was under pressure across the board, also taking losses against GBP and EUR. Todays Key Issues: US Columbus Day (Bonds & Fed Closed, Equities & Futures Open). JPN Sports Day (Japanese Markets Closed). CAD Thanksgiving Day (Canadian Markets Closed). Are due at 8:30 GMT; GB September PPI expected respectively -1% vs -1.2% MoM and 6.7% vs 7.6% YoY. German Industrial Production due at 10:00 GMT is expected 6% vs 4.7%. The Risk Today: EURUSD found a temporary support at 1.2570 (76.4% retracement of the 1.2456 to 1.2941 advance on Friday), but with the break of 1.2630 intensifying downward pressure, it could extended down trend beyond 1.2570 driving the way to 1.2456. USDCHF remains in a bull trend, having tested the peak at 1.2625 on Friday. We could see further upside towards 1.2736 (61.8% retracement of the 1.3241 to 1.1919 decline). Thereafter market is spotting 1.2930 (76.4% retracement). Near-term support resides at Friday's 1.2490 low, but the up-trend remains dominant above 1.2400. GBPUSD is heavy short-term below 1.8901, and approximate 61.8% retracement of the 1.8633 to 1.9076 advance, but extended downside under 1.8601 is needed to signal a move outside the current range. USDJPY targets 119.40 and could reach very soon the psychological 120.00 level. It has a strong bullish tone after having break-up multi-year trend-line resistance at 118.50 originating from 1998. Resistance and Support: EURUSD GBPUSD USDJPY USDCHF 1.2880 K 1.9144 T 121.40 T 1.2800 P 1.2670 S 1.9075 M 120.74 M 1.2736 S 1.2630 M 1.8901 S 119.40 S 1.2625 M 1.2596 1.8702 118.00 1.2604 1.2570 S 1.8663 M 118.50 P 1.2490 M 1.2560 K 1.8601 K 117.32 M 1.2370 M 1.2450 T 1.8400 T 116.06 T 1.2287 S S: Strong, M: Minor, T: Trendline, K: Keylevel, P: Pivot