US Nonfarm Payrolls rise by 223,000 in December vs. 200,000 expected

Nonfarm Payrolls in the US rose by 223,000 in December, the data published by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics revealed on Friday. This reading came in much higher than the market expectation of 200,000 and followed November’s increase of 256,000 (revised from 263,000).

Further details of the publication revealed that the Unemployment Rate declined to 3.5% in December from 3.6% in November. The Labor Force Participation Rate improved modestly to 62.3% from 62.1% and the annual wage inflation, as measured by the Average Hourly Earnings, declined to 4.6% from 4.8%, compared to the market expectation of 5%.

EUR/USD faces some heightened downside near the 1.0500 mark or multi-week lows.

Looking at the broader scenario, the shared currency is expected to closely follow dollar dynamics, the impact of the energy crisis on the region and the Fed-ECB divergence.

XAU/USD 1-hour chart broke higher on the release, towards $1,843.75, and quickly stabilized just shy of the daily pivot point at around $1,838.85. On the upside, XAU/USD was capped by the 50-EMA around $1,840, though it remains trading volatile as investors assess the overall US jobs market.