ADP report shows February jobs decreased by 23,000. Euro new record high.

March 5, 2008 - Forex Economic News

In U.S. data, private employment news was released today in the form of the ADP National Employment Report. Nonfarm private employment decreased from January to February by 23,000 jobs. This follows the December to January revised increase of 119,000 jobs. The goods producing sector registered as the largest declining sector as it lost 70,000 jobs, which marked the 15th straight month of decline. The services sector showed a gain of 47,000 jobs while the manufacturing sector lost 40,000 jobs in February. Employment at large businesses with more than 500 employees fell by 34,000 jobs and medium sized businesses fell by 4,000 jobs while small businesses with fewer than 50 employees increased by 15,000 jobs.

The U.S. dollar has been under pressure from less than stellar news releases today including the ADP report and the Fed Beige Book which showed "that economic growth has slowed since the beginning of the year. Two-thirds of the Districts cited softening or weakening in the pace of business activity, while the others referred to subdued, slow, or modest growth." The EUR/USD pair recorded a new record high for the euro against the dollar as it broke through the 1.5300 barrier for the first time. The dollar could yield more ground to the euro if Friday's release of the U.S. non-farm payroll report comes in below expectations. The market economists are generally expecting an increase of between 20-35K jobs. Last month showed a decrease of 17,000 jobs. The EUR/USD is currently trading at 1.5262.

Tags: ADP Employment Report, EUR/USD, Fed Beige Book, euro record high, usd record low, nonfarm payrolls

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