Stock Market
By Bruce Buterin
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The U.S. dollar took a hit Friday when February jobs numbers came in way below what economists expected.
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Labor Department data showed the economy added just 150,000 jobs last month, falling short of the 200,000 forecast that most Wall Street analysts were banking on.
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Markets went crazy after the numbers hit.
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The euro jumped 0.4% against the dollar, ending at $1.0800, while the Japanese yen gained 0.2% to 136.00 per dollar.
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Some currency guys think the dollar's Friday retreat won't last long. They're pointing to what they see as solid economic fundamentals underneath all this messy data.
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The British pound climbed 0.5% to $1.2150 on Friday. Traders are betting the Bank of England might hike rates again, which has been giving the pound some support lately.
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Next week's going to be huge. The Consumer Price Index comes out, and that inflation data could really shake things up for Fed policy.
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China's yuan got a bit stronger too, closing at 6.9200 per dollar. Beijing's economic policies keep messing with currency flows in ways that aren't always easy to predict.
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Gold prices reacted to the jobs mess by rising 0.6% to $1,850 per ounce Friday, bouncing back from earlier losses during the week.
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U.S. Treasury yields were bouncing around too. The 10-year yield settled at 3.85%, down from Thursday's 3.90%.
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Wall Street didn't seem too bothered by the jobs report though. The S&P 500 closed up 0.2% at 4,150 points, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.
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Currency strategists at BNP Paribas put out a note Friday saying the dollar's performance still looks pretty robust over the medium term.
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The Canadian dollar saw a modest bump Friday, closing at 1.3600 against the U.S. dollar. Analysts are crediting stronger-than-expected Canadian GDP data for the fourth quarter,…
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The Reserve Bank of Australia is set to release its monetary policy statement next week, and the Australian dollar ended Friday up 0.3% at 0.6700 per U.S. dollar.
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European Central Bank meeting minutes from Thursday revealed ongoing worries about inflation.
The Currency Analytics
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