The US Nonfarm Payroll Report for August showed another month of job losses. 219k jobs were lost and the unemployment number spiked up to 9.7 percent.
The number of jobs lost declined, but unemployment moved higher. The markets responded in kind with a whip in the US Dollar. The US Dollar was initially bought and subsequently sold hard ending up slightly lower over all.
The interesting thing to note is that the dollar still has not broken out of its previous range. This proves that the numbers, although interesting, changed nothing for the US Economy fundamentally. The situation continues to be poor, but not excessively poor compared to the previous month.
Barring any new surprises for the month, the dollar seems prepared to climb it’s range once again from the post nonfarm sell off. The upcoming week will be a good time to seek trade opportunities.
NonFarm Payrolls Spark Forex Volatility
From John Russell, About.com GuideSeptember 4, 2009
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Hi Mr. Russell,
Interesting perspective on your take about Forex Volatility. I had never considered payroll numbers as being a driving force in the volatility on currency markets. I hope you will write more about that subject.
Thank you.