Excellent jobs report by ADP: no less than 250K private sector jobs were gained in the US in December. The figure for November was only slightly revised down from 190K to 185K. All in all, the gain in jobs is good news on its own and also a big beat on expectations. Most of these jobs are service-sector positions: 222K.
The US dollar is recovering but the moves are limited.
Automated Data Processing (ADP) was expected to report a gain of 190K private sector jobs in December, exactly like in November (before revisions).
The US dollar resumed its decline ahead of the publication. It made a recovery attempt thanks to an upbeat ISM Manufacturing PMI and as the FOMC meeting minutes did not rock the boat. However, the greenback is now extending its falls that began in the dying days of 2017.
- EUR/USD traded around 1.2070. A key resistance line is very close: 1.2090. That was the 2017 high and a break above this level will send the pair to the highest level since December 2014. It is sliding to 1.2055 after the publication.
- USD/JPY was around 112.60, marginally higher on the day. Dollar/yen is now around 112.70.
- GBP/USD was around the pivotal line of 1.3550. The British services PMI came out within expectations. Cable is back down to 1.3535.
- USD/CAD was around 1.2525. Rising oil prices support the Canadian dollar, but weren’t enough to tumble Dollar/CAD below 1.25. Not yet. And now, the pair is a few pips higher.
- AUD/USD was around 0.7840, stabilizing on high ground. Aussie/USD is down to 0.7832.
ADP is the largest payrolls provider in the US and its report about changes in private sector employment precede the official BLS report on Friday, aka, the Non-Farm Payrolls. The correlation between the two is not always there, but this report is certainly a market mover on its own.
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