The US dollar plummeted on Friday after the Labor Department released a weaker-than-expected job growth report. The data has fueled further speculation among investors about the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy direction, leading to a widespread sell-off of the greenback.
According to the Labor Department’s report, nonfarm payrolls increased by 150,000 jobs in October, beating market expectations of a 180,000 increase. While the unemployment rate remained at 3.9%, slightly higher than the expected 3.8%, the report revealed a modest 0.2% growth in average earnings on a monthly basis, falling short of the forecasted 0.3% increase.
The job growth figures caused the dollar index, which measures the dollar’s strength against a basket of currencies, to tumble to 105.33 by 12:45 GMT. As a result, the most watched pair USD/JPY dropped below 150 as demand for the dollar weakened and Treasury Yields fell.
The best performer of the day – so far – is the New Zealand dollar (NZD), soaring 1.27% against the US dollar.