US (Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey) JOLTs Job Openings for August surprised to the upside, stressing tight labour conditions and unlikely what the Fed wanted to see. Job openings increased by nearly 700,000 to 9.6m (5.8%). This is a sizeable uptick from the previous print of 8.3m and was comfortably north of economists’ estimates at 8.8m, bolstering that higher-for-longer narrative on rates.
US Dollar Index Higher on JOLTs Data
Hiring was unchanged at around 5.9m (3.7%); total separations, which, according to the Bureau of Labour Statistics (BLS), include quits, layoffs, discharges and other separations, was also little changed at 5.7m (3.6%). The quit rate came in at 3.6m and was almost the same as the previous month at 2.3%. The BLS noted that the number of quits increased in accommodation and food services, finance and insurance, as well as state and local government.
Markets were not totally reactive on the back of this release. However, it did initially guide major US equity indices lower and lift the US Dollar Index to fresh YTD pinnacles, pulling price action to within striking distance of resistance on the daily timeframe at 107.61. The release also sent the USD/JPY beyond the ¥150.00 handle for the first time since October 2022 and weighed on the EUR/USD further under monthly support at $1.0516.
As seen from the monthly and daily charts below, the US Dollar Index demonstrates room to continue exploring higher levels.
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