- Nonfarm payrolls increased by 678,000 in February, beating consensus.
- EUR/USD falls to a low of 1.0885, the lowest level since May 26, 2020.
- Stellar employment data supports the likelihood of a Fed rate hike.
A Stellar US Non-Farm Payrolls report boosted the US dollar to a new high, sending the EUR/USD pair to a low of 1.0885, the lowest level since May 26, 2020. At time of writing, the pair is slightly recovering towards 1.0920, losing around 120 pips on the day.
The official report for February from the United States showed, in general, figures that were better than expected. Non-farm payrolls increased in February by 678,000surpassing the market consensus of 400,000 and higher than 481,000 in January. February was the best month since July of the year past. The unemployment rate went from 4% in January to 3.8% in Februarylower than the expected 3.9%.
Stellar jobs data supports the likelihood of a rate hike by the Federal Reserve and the divergence between the monetary policy of the Fed and the European Central Bank weighs on the EUR/USD.
“Now there really isn’t any support on the way to the April 2020 low near 1.0725 and then the March 2020 low near 1.0635Brown Brothers Harriman analysts said in a note on Friday.
EUR/USD monthly chart
Earlier in the day, another piece of news caused the euro to sell off during the Asian session. The media reported that a fire broke out in an outbuilding at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plantthe largest of its kind in Europe, which had been taken over by Russian soldiers.
The fire has died down and while that has helped ease some of the initial panics that plagued the markets, investors remain extremely anxious about the conflict.
Source: Fx Street
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