Private Nonfarm Payrolls comes in at 127K against 48K consensus

Private Nonfarm Payrolls for the United States were released today at 127K. This figure significantly exceeded the consensus estimate of 48K, representing a surprise of 164.6%. The previous month’s reading was 30K.

Following the release, the US Dollar strengthened against most major currencies. AUDUSD moved -20 pips 15 minutes after the release, while EURUSD was down -27 pips. GBPUSD declined -35 pips, and NZDUSD fell -27 pips in the same timeframe. USDCAD rose +70 pips, USDCHF gained +33 pips, and USDJPY was up +22 pips. Gold, XAUUSD, traded -759 pips lower. For context, the 15-minute moves for AUDUSD, EURUSD, GBPUSD, NZDUSD, USDCHF, and USDJPY are larger than their respective median 1-hour moves of 16 pips, 22 pips, 23 pips, 16 pips, 19 pips, and 27 pips. USDCAD’s +70 pips move is larger than its top-quarter 1-hour move of 41+ pips. XAUUSD’s -759 pips move is also significantly larger than its top-quarter 1-hour move of 126+ pips.