USD/CAD Rises amid Higher Initial Jobless Claims, Falling Bond Yields

The US dollar was mixed against its major currency rivals on Thursday following a disappointing initial jobless claims report. After a decent performance so far this week, the greenback is taking a breather to kick off a new month and quarter. With the US government planning to spend trillions of dollars in infrastructure over the next eight years, can the buck maintain its upward trajectory?

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits clocked in at 719,000 in the week ending March 27. This was greater than the market forecast of 680,000, and it is up from the previous week’s pandemic low of 658,000.
Continuing jobless claims fell to 3.794 million, while the four-week average, which eliminates week-to-week volatility, came in at 719,000.
An additional 237,025 applications for benefits were submitted through a federal-relief program. When federal and state jobless claims are combined, the total is 951,548, which marks the second consecutive week that it is below one million since the early days of the COVID-19 public health crisis.
Claims increased in Virginia, California, Georgia, and New Jersey. They decreased the most in Florida, Massachusetts, and Florida.
But while the increase is concerning, market analysts say that it is likely a blip in the radar since all the metrics point to an improving economy. Plus, governments across the country are lifting restrictions, prompting businesses to hire new staff.
On Friday, the US government will release its March jobs report and unemployment rate. Economists are anticipating 647,000 new jobs and a jobless rate of 6%.
In other data, the IHS Markit manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI) rose to 59.1 in March, up from 58.6 in February — anything above 50 indicates expansion. This was also higher than the market estimate of 59. The Institute of Supply Management (ISM) released its final March readings: manufacturing PMI climbed to 64.7, new orders rose to 68, manufacturing prices surged fell to 85.6, and employment advanced to 59.6.
The US bond market was mostly in the red on Thursday, with the benchmark 10-year Treasury down 0.051% to 1.695%. The one-year bill dipped 0.002% to 0.061%, while the 30-year bond shed 0.055% to 2.368%.
The US Dollar Index (DXY), which measures the greenback against a basket of currencies, tumbled 0.24% to 93.01, from an opening of 93.22. The DXY is poised for a weekly gain of about 0.5%, bringing its year-to-date surge to 3.42%. In March, the index jumped 1.5%.
The USD/CAD currency pair rose 0.1% to 1.2576, from an opening of 1.2563, at 13:53 GMT on Thursday. The EUR/USD advanced 0.22% to 1.1758, from an opening of 1.1731.
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Original from: www.earnforex.com