USD/JPY REFRESHES THREE-DAY HIGH AT 149.50 ON UPBEAT US LABOR DEMAND

USD/JPY prints a fresh three-day high at 149.50 on the robust US NFP report.

Fresh payrolls in September were higher at 336K than expectations of 170K and 227K reading from August.

The resilient US labor market data may elevate hopes of one more interest rate increase from the Fed.

The USD/JPY pair prints a fresh three-day high at 149.50 after the release of the better-than-anticipated United States Nonfarm Payrolls (NFP) report. The asset strengthens as resilient labor market conditions are expected to set a hawkish undertone for the Federal Reserve’s (Fed) monetary policy meeting in November.

As per the US NFP report, 336K individuals were hired by US employers in September, which was notably higher than expectations of 170K and 227K reading from August. The Unemployment Rate remained unchanged at 3.8%, a tick higher than expectations of 3.7%.

On the wage front, monthly Average Hourly Earnings grew steadily at a 0.2% pace while investors forecasted a higher pace of 0.3%. The annualized wage data edged down to 4.2% against the consensus and the former release of 4.3%.

The US Dollar Index (DXY) climbs to near 107.00 as the resilient US labor market data is expected to elevate hopes of one more interest rate increase from the Fed. Also, 10-year US Treasury yields jumped to near 4.84%. This week, Fed Bank President Loretta Mester said that interest rates should rise again in November if the economy continues to remain the way it is. Fed’s interest rates could remain unchanged if labor demand turns weak.

On the Japanese Yen front, the clarification from Bank of Japan’s (BoJ) money market data that Tuesday’s flash crash was not due to the central bank’s intervention in the FX domain has impacted the Japanese Yen’s appeal. Things have come back to square, investors continue to await the BoJ’s stealth intervention.