Non-farm payroll shows first decline since April

The dollar initially edged higher and then gave up gains to end the first trading week of 2021 after non-farm payrolls showed a 140K drop in jobs in December. The UK continues to battle a wave of coronavirus outbreaks and has authorized the Moderna vaccine as a third vaccine in the country.

“We must accept finite disappointment, but we must never lose infinite hope.”

Martin Luther King

FX Rates
January 8, 2021

Rates are not real time. Rates are today's indicative mid-market rates as of time of publishing, which may vary. Please contact SVB for a current quote.

EUR/USD 1.2271
GBP/USD 1.3612
USD/CAD 1.2674
AUD/USD 0.7790
USD/JPY 103.73
USD/CNH 6.4547
USD/ILS 3.1798
USD/MXN 19.9136
USD/CHF 0.8828
USD/INR 73.24
USD
Non-Farm Payroll data out today that showed a fall of 140K m/m falling short of +50K expectations. This is the first time since April that a negative number was reported. The dollar initially edged higher, but then gave up gains. President Trump last night acknowledged defeat and is now shifting his focus to transition responsibilities. Equities continue to gain on hopes of an orderly transition and additional stimulus.
GBP
The pound outperformed peers following news the Moderna vaccine is authorized in the UK and that the Pfizer and BioNTech’s vaccine could protect against the new variants.
EUR
The euro is down slightly against the dollar following US labor numbers. Upside momentum for the euro remains supported by prospects of economic recovery and expected additional stimulus from the ECB and Fed.
CAD
After rising in tandem with risk-on tone and higher oil prices, the Canadian dollar edged lower versus the USD as the Canadian economy lost more jobs than expected in December. Employment fell 62.6K after rising nearly that same amount the previous month.
ASIA/PACIFIC
The yen is on track for a 0.6% advance versus the dollar this week and has revealed a medium-term descending channel with support between 103.82 and 104.40.

Chinese Central Bank Governor Yi Gang said that China will continue to let the market play a decisive role in the yuan fixing rate for 2021. The yuan firmed and is set to end with the best week in two months despite overnight measures to ease capital inflows and slow the currency’s rally.

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