Article Highlights
- U.S. Feb ADP non-farm employment change up 214K vs. 185K forecast
- U.S. Jan ADP non-farm employment change downgraded from 205K to 189K
- U.S. crude oil inventories up by 10.4 million barrels vs. 2.5 million forecast
- Fed Beige Book: Economic activity improved in most districts
Comdoll bulls, unite! These higher-yielding currencies managed to hold on to their forex gains and go for more even though concerns of an oil supply glut popped up.
Major Events:
U.S. crude oil inventories – Stockpiles rose once more, this time by a whopping 10.4 million barrels versus the projected 2.5 million barrels. As it turns out, analysts noticed that the report also indicated falling production numbers, putting a bit of upside pressure on prices.
WTI crude oil dipped to a low of $33.55/barrel upon seeing the headline figures but soon rallied back above the $35/barrel level. If you’re wondering why this matters to forex traders, make sure you check out this primer on crude oil.
Mixed U.S. ADP jobs data – The ADP reported a 214K gain in hiring for its February non-farm employment change report, stronger than the estimated 185K figure. However, the January reading was downgraded from 205K to 189K, hinting that the upcoming NFP release might be in for a shake-up as well.
Fed Beige Book – The Fed’s Beige Book, which contains the data used by the FOMC in making their next policy decision, had relatively upbeat points as it indicated that economic activity improved in most districts. It also confirmed that labor market conditions continued to improve while wage growth varied from flat to strong.
Major Currency Movers:
Commodity currencies – The comdoll gang continued to take advantage of the risk-on forex market environment, as the Aussie led the back in terms of gains.
AUD/USD is up to the .7300 handle, AUD/JPY broke above the 83.00 mark to a high of 83.08, NZD/USD rallied to a high of .6670, NZD/JPY is testing the resistance at the 76.00 area, and USD/CAD is still hovering around the 1.3450 levels.
USD – Since the lower-yielding yen already returned some of its previous wins yesterday, it was the Greenback’s turn to retreat today.
EUR/USD popped up to a high of 1.0870, GBP/USD is pulling up to a high of 1.4075, and USD/JPY slid from a high of 114.43 to a low of 113.35.
- 12:30 am GMT: Australian trade balance (-3.22B AUD expected, -3.52B AUD previous)
- 1:45 am GMT: Chinese Caixin services PMI (52.6 expected, 52.4 previous)
See also:
Asian Session Recap
London Session Recap
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