Forex - USD/JPY rises as U.S. jobs report makes strong showing
Published May 03, 2013 02:54PM ET
In U.S. trading on Friday, USD/JPY was trading at 99.11, up 1.18%, up from a session low of 97.91 and off a high of 99.27.
The pair was likely to find resistance at 99.77, the high from April 24, and support at 97.02, Tuesday's low.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported earlier that the U.S. economy picked up 165,000 nonfarm payrolls in April, up from 138,000 in March, whose figure was revised up from 88,000.
April's figures far outpaced analysts' forecasts for a 145,000 figure, while February's figures were revised to 332,000 from 268,000.
The headline unemployment rate ticked down to 7.5% in April from 7.6% in March.
The numbers allayed recent concerns that the Federal Reserve may keep stimulus measures in place for longer than expected, including its monthly USD85 billion bond-buying program, which weakens the dollar to spur recovery.
The dollar weakened against other currencies as the numbers sparked an appetite for stocks and other higher-yielding asset classes, which enticed investors out of safe-haven dollar positions, though the greenback strengthened against the yen, itself a safe-harbor unit.
Elsewhere, the Institute for Supply Management reported that its April non-manufacturing index fell to 53.1 in April from 54.4 in March, missing market calls for a 54.0 reading, the slowest pace of expansion since July of last year.
Still, a reading over 50 indicates expansion.
The yen, meanwhile, was down against the pound and down against the euro, with GBP/JPY up 1.43% and trading at 154.31 and EUR/JPY trading up 1.59% at 130.00.
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Written By: Investing.com
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