| Time | Country | Event | Period | Previous value | Forecast | Actual |
|---|
| 05:00 | Japan | Consumer Confidence | March | 31.1 | 31.9 | 33.9 |
| 06:00 | Japan | Eco Watchers Survey: Current | March | 52 | 52.9 | 53.3 |
| 06:00 | Japan | Eco Watchers Survey: Outlook | March | 50.8 | | 54.1 |
During today's Asian trading, the US dollar rose slightly against major currencies, as the latest data on the US labor market increased the likelihood of further tightening of the Fed's monetary policy.
The US Dollar Currency Index (DXY), which tracks the dynamics of the dollar against six currencies (euro, swiss franc, yen, canadian dollar, pound sterling and swedish krona) rose by 0.10% to 102.19.
The US Department of Labor said on Friday that the nonfarm payrolls increased by 236,000 in March, while economists had expected an increase of 239,000. However, the unemployment rate unexpectedly fell by 0.1% to 3.5%. Meanwhile, the growth of average hourly earnings slowed to 4.2% per annum from 4.6% per annum in February, but remained well above the Fed's 2% inflation target. This situation indicates the need for a further increase in the Fed's interest rate. According to the CME FedWatch Tool, markets see a 64% chance that the Fed raised the interest rate by 0.25% at its May meeting, up from 57.2% a week earlier.
Later this week, US CPI data for March will be released, as well as the minutes of the Fed's March meeting, which may cause another reassessment of the Fed's monetary policy prospects. According to forecasts, the CPI rose by 0.3% in March after an increase of 0.4% in February. In annual terms, the growth of consumer prices, according to experts, slowed down to 5.2% from 6%.