May nonfarm payrolls rose 172K, beating forecasts and lifting Fed rate hike bets, bolstering the USD against the JPY.
The US Dollar held near 160 against the Japanese Yen on Friday after a robust US jobs report. Nonfarm payrolls increased by 172K in May, surpassing the 85K estimate and following an upwardly revised 179K gain in April. The unemployment rate remained steady at 4.3%, while wage growth slowed to 3.4% year-over-year.
Revisions to prior months added 93K jobs, underscoring labor market resilience. The data contrasted with expectations of a cooling economy, prompting investors to adjust Fed policy bets. Annual wage growth decelerated from 3.6% in April, signaling mixed inflation pressures.
The USD strengthened broadly after the release, with Fed rate hike odds for December rising to 41.2%. USD/JPY pared earlier losses but remained capped by BoJ tightening expectations, as Japanese wage growth accelerated to 3.5% in April.