Forex news for US trading on May 6, 2016:

Markets:

  • Gold up $11 to $1288
  • WTI crude up 30-cents to $44.62
  • S&P 500 up 6 points to 2057
  • US 10-year yields up 3 bps to 1.77%
  • JPY leads, AUD lags

The US dollar finished strong in the best week for the currency in six weeks. It didn't look like that at first. Non-farm payrolls missed estimates and the US dollar kicked lower across the board.

Most initial dollar moves were in the neighbourhood of 50 pips but the kneejerk turned out to be the extreme. Average hourly earnings were a bit better than anticipated and the general USD-positive undercurrent that's been there all week reappeared.

The dollar rebound came relatively quickly, especially against the commodity currencies. That was followed by the euro, GBP and late in the day USD/JPY rallied 70 pips from the lows and finished at a session high as stocks gained.

Oil was higher but CAD struggled again as the fires in Alberta raged and oil companies talked about remaining closed through the end of the month. Around 1m bpd is offline, or about $33 million per day.

The Australian dollar finished up a dismal stretch following the RBA with a finish near the lows. The damage was done before US traders arrived. The pair finished at 0.7366, which is roughly the same as it started but it did dip down as low as 0.7338.

Have a great weekend.