Live Coverage: Nonfarm Payrolls promise explosive action in Gold, US Dollar, Stocks

Yohay Elam FXStreet

Nonfarm Payrolls smashed estimates with 272K in May, way above 185K expected and the 120-235K range. Moreover, wages beat with 0.4% vs 0.3% MoM and 4.1% vs. 3.9% YoY. The only disappointment was the symbolic increase of the unemployment rate to 4%, but that was fully overshadowed by the other figures. The US Dollar is up, Gold is down, stocks are down.

FXStreet Premium allows subscribers to participate in the coverage and ask analysts questions live.

Why Nonfarm Payrolls matter for markets

Nonfarm Payrolls is the official US labor market report, usually published on the first Friday of the month. The Federal Reserve (Fed) has two mandates: price stability and full employment – and the latter is measured by this report.

The economic calendar points to an increase of 185,000 jobs in the upcoming report for May 2024, similar to 175,000 reported for April. Apart from the headline data, the politically sensitive Unemployment Rate is projected to have remained at 3.9% and Average Hourly Earnings (wages) carry expectations for a 0.3% monthly gain and 3.9% yearly.

Other employment data released earlier this week mostly pointed lower: ADP's private-sector labor report for May missed forecasts, and the JOLTs publication for April showed the softest hiring since 2021. A small uptick in the employment component of the ISM Services PMI partially offset the weak data.

Live financial market coverage

FXStreet covers major economic releases in a live blog format, to provide readers an instant verdict of the data, rapid analysis of key assets, and for Premium members, the abilty to ask our experts questions in real time.

FXStreet Premium

FXStreet Premium provides subscribers access to analysts, exclusive actionable analysis, signals, Ed Ponsi's webinars, trade plans and a bullish/bearish indicator for Gold on critical events. Join FXStreet Premium here.

Author

Yohay Elam

FXStreet

Yohay is in Forex since 2008 when he founded Forex Crunch, a blog crafted in his free time that turned into a fully-fledged currency website later sold to Finixio.

AUD/USD keeps range near mid-0.7100s as USD bulls await US CPI

AUD/USD steadies near mid-0.7100s in the Asian session on Friday, stalling the previous day's sharp decline to an over one-week low. The August PPI report reaffirmed Fed rate-hike bets and boosted the US Dollar on Thursday, which weighed heavily on the pair. However, hawkish RBA expectations limited losses for the Aussie as USD bulls now await the release of the US consumer inflation figures before placing fresh bets.

USD/JPY holds lower ground toward 154.00; looks to US CPI

USD/JPY holds lower ground toward 154.00 in the Asian session on Friday after hot Japanese PPI data bolster a more hawkish BoJ repricing and provide fresh impetus to the Japanese Yen. However, the downside appears capped as the US Dollar preserves overnight gains ahead of the latest US consumer inflation data.

Gold: Gains remain capped by $4,400

Gold regains composure and trades with decent gains on Friday, managing to refocus attention on the $4,440 mark per ounce troy. Therefore, the precious metal reverses Thursday’s decline as the US Dollar alternates gains with losses at the end of the week.

Ripple Price Forecast: XRP extends decline as returning ETF inflows fail to lift outlook

Ripple (XRP) falls below $1.33 on Friday, marking the third consecutive day of declines. The token continues to track the broader cryptocurrency market downturn, with investors closely monitoring heightened macroeconomic uncertainty ahead of the United States (US) Consumer Price Index (CPI) release and next week’s Federal Reserve (Fed) monetary policy decision.

Weekly focus – The hawks set the tone

Risky assets came under pressure this week as energy prices kept creeping higher and the ECB surprised the markets with a hawkish tone. The price of Brent crude touched USD 110 per barrel on Thursday night, highest since mid-May, as news emerged that the Yemeni Houthis had reached control of key port cities and islands near the Bab el-Mandeb strait.

Venezuela’s 65-billion-barrel Oil deal could reshape America’s inflation fight

The United States (US) has secured unprecedented access to part of Venezuela’s vast Oil reserves. The timing is particularly significant as the war with Iran is disrupting Middle Eastern supplies, keeping energy prices elevated and reviving concerns about inflation.