Positive Nonfarm Payrolls Give Dollar Basis for Rally

The US dollar was winner against most major currencies today as the non-farm payrolls showed that the employment growth accelerated last month, frustrating the analysts, who expected slower growth.

Non-farm payrolls grew by 244,000 in April. The actual reading was much better that the forecast value of 185,000 and above the March change by 221,000 (upwardly revised from 216,000). As it’s often happens with the reports from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, higher employment doesn’t mean lower unemployment. The unemployment rate increased to 9.0 percent, while it was expected to stay at 8.8 percent.

The positive payrolls eased tensions created by the pessimistic reports earlier this week. The rising unemployment rated doesn’t help the greenback, though. The unemployment can give excuse the Federal Reserve to stick to its stimulating program, further reducing appeal of the dollar.

EUR/USD dropped from 1.4536 to 1.4341 as of 19:20 GMT today after rising to 1.4587, while USD/JPY went up from 80.06 to 80.57, jumping to the intraday high of 80.93.

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