The dollar and the yield on the benchmark Treasury note edged higher in light trading on Friday after data showing a surge in the hiring of Americans in March pointed to a U.S. economic recovery that is poised to be the strongest in decades.
Equity markets were closed for Good Friday in the Americas, Europe and elsewhere, but it is not a U.S. government holiday and the Labor Department released the closely watched non-farm payrolls report.
The U.S. economy added 916,000 jobs in March, more than economists’ forecast of 647,000, and the unemployment rate fell to 6.0% from the previous month’s 6.2%. Jobs numbers for February were revised upwards according to the jobs report.
Futures for the S&P 500 stock index extended gains to 0.43% after the report.
Despite the strong numbers the data will not alter the Federal Reserve’s stance on monetary policy, said Steven Ricchiuto, U.S. chief economist at Mizuho Securities USA in New York.
“The economy’s bouncing back, but it’s not producing the things that are going to change the direction of monetary policy,” Ricchiuto said. “We’re going to test the 1.77% level (in the 10-year Treasury note), but I’m not sure it’s going to break (through) on this number.”
