- The US economy added 128K new jobs in October vs. 89K anticipated.
- The unemployment rate, as was widely expected, edges higher to 3.5%.
- The data largely offsets softer wage growth data and remained supportive.
The USD/JPY pair finally broke out of its daily consolidative trading range and jumped to session tops, around the 108.25 region post-NFP.
The pair caught some aggressive bids during the early North-American session after the latest US monthly jobs report came in to show that the US economy added 128K new jobs in October, higher than consensus estimates pointing to a reading of 89K.
Adding to the upbeat headline NFP print, the unemployment rate matched consensus estimates and edged higher to 3.6%. The data, to a larger extent, helped offset a slight disappointment from average hourly earnings data, which posted a modest 0.2% growth during the reported month as compared to 0.3% expected.
Meanwhile, the yearly wage growth rate stood at 3.0%, matching consensus estimates, and remained supportive of a modest US Dollar uptick, albeit a turnaround in the US bond yields might keep a lid on any strong follow-through momentum, at least for the time being.
Technical levels to watch