NFP: Markets swings between US economic progress and rising virus worries

National payrolls rose 4.8 million in June, far more than the 3 million forecast. Markets were generally pleased with the progress of the US economy in the NFP report but the fire on the horizon is the rapidly rising incidence of the virus cases in a number of states and the concomitant tightening of the restrictions on economic activity, FXStreet’s analyst Joseph Trevisani reports.

Key quotes

“American employers hired back 4.8 million workers in June and the unemployment rate dropped to a pandemic low of 11.1% as the US economy continued to reopen despite setbacks in some states.”

“The currency market was torn between the positive economic news that would tend to diminish the safety trade to the dollar and its opposite effect from the rising pandemic worries in the US.”

“Past experience shows that the spread of the virus is extraordinarily difficult to prevent once it reaches a critical mass in the population. If the pandemic again threatens to overwhelm hospital systems in cities then the positive news of the past month could become a case of economic nostalgia.”